Collins Medical: ‘Lifeblood’ of family, industry

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Collins Medical Equipment has taken many different forms over the course of its nine decades in business, but one thing that hasn’t changed is its commitment to being a family-owned, local business, says President Jack Collins. 

“We’ve evolved from a tiny corner drug store of no more than 600 square feet founded by my grandfather to two locations and 25 employees statewide,” said Jack Collins. “We’ve been medical equipment, we’ve been pharmacy, we’ve been home respiratory, we’ve been home infusion therapy – we have owned, merged, acquired and sold all of these and now here we are in 2021 with a successful company that is the lifeblood for seven families.” 

These days, Collins Medical Equipment, which recently celebrated its 90th anniversary, focuses on providing DME, including beds, lift chairs, bath safety and mobility products, incontinence supplies and compression apparel. In the past 10 years, it has also launched two new divisions, Collins Accessibility Solutions in 2012 and Collins Insulin Pump Supplies in 2016. 

Collins Medical Equipment didn’t even have the diabetes market on its radar but, after being asked by state agencies to offer the product category – those agencies had difficulty with other providers and knew of its commitment to service – and after researching the fast-growing market, the company jumped in, says Jack Collins. 

“We have a longstanding history of working in the state with various agencies (like Medicaid),” he said. “My brother Chris and his nephew, Tom Collins, IV, took it upon themselves to give it a try and built out the infrastructure, hired the personnel, and in the last five years we have dominated (that market) in Connecticut.”  

Collins Medical Equipment launched the accessibility business in response to the growing trend of seniors wanting to remain in their homes, a trend that has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Bryan Collins, who obtained his aging-in-place specialist certification. 

“We did ramps for a long time and then we just started seeing a need – everyone was talking about staying home and aging in place,” said Bryan Collins, director of sales & marketing and Jack’s son. “We got licensed as contractors and certified stairlift technicians, and we were off to the races.” 

Closing in on a century in business, Collins Medical Equipment believes it’s this foundation on family and the local community that has allowed it to stand the test of time, even as larger HME companies and outsiders like Amazon increasingly enter the market, says Jack Collins. 

“The knowledge and the service piece is so important and people also want to touch and feel stuff,” he said. “We’ve got a unique situation in Connecticut and we’re going to continue doing what we are doing. The market is there and growing, and there’s a push to get more money into the entire industry – accessibility, home health, nursing – and hopefully we are here to take advantage of it.”