Cape Medical builds scale in New England

SANDWICH, Mass. - Business came full circle recently when Cape Medical Supply acquired the sleep therapy business of “friendly competitor” Enos Home Medical.

The deal allows the New Bedford, Mass.-based Enos, which acquired Cape Medical's hospice business in 2016, to further focus on that market.

“I know Gary well and he's way better at sleep than us,” said Jon Enos, president. “I felt comfortable (with the deal) for our patients and financially it made sense.”

The acquisition brought 2,500 new patients to Cape Medical. The provider also operates in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine, where it acquired Kittery-based Seacoast Sleep Solutions in 2011.

“We are focused on building scale,” said Gary Sheehan, president and CEO. “We've got a great sales team working across New England to (boost referrals) for us, but acquisitions are something we will continue to evaluate.”

Cape Medical has been an early adopter of technology solutions, which has allowed it to differentiate itself from other companies, says Sheehan.

“We've built a very focused program and we put a lot of effort into monitoring it to make sure it's performing as well as it can for referrals, patients and payers,” he said. “We have a lot of patients using digital solutions, whether it's a portal to reorder suppliers or the patient app to communicate.”

While the technology is an important piece of its success, so is the human side of the equation. Cape Medical's telehealth and customer service teams work closely with patients, says Sheehan.

“Sleeping with a mask on your face is challenging no matter how committed you are,” he said. “Our team knows the products well and are well-positioned to interface with these patients and help them solve their problems.

Cape Medical's compliance rate is in the high 70 percent—a number Sheehan says probably won't get much higher.

“I hear people throw around a number, but I always want to reality-check it,” he said. “We've been working at that number very aggressively, but there's a subset of the patient population that simply does not tolerate the mask.”

Sheehan says he sees no signs of the sleep market slowing any time soon.

“Data points to still a very high number of undiagnosed cases, and my unscientific approach in talking to people, more and more are diagnosed every day,” he said. “Sleep health is the cornerstone to total overall health. We need to get these patients identified and treated.”