HME Provider of the Year: MSC doesn’t ride out the storm, it leads the charge

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Medical Service Company has made great strides since 2007, but it’s made the most progress in this past year, says Melissa Seitz, vice president of human resources. 

MSC, founded in 1950, was named one of two HME Providers of the Year at the virtual HME News Business Summit in September. It was also named Best Home Medical Equipment Provider in 2007. 

“We didn’t really sit back and ride the storm out (in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit),” said Seitz. “We really invested, we innovated and we improved as an organization, despite everything going on in the world.” 

MSC, which specializes in sleep disorder and chronic-respiratory disease management, credits its financial growth to adding MSC Diabetes, a specialty division providing continuous glucose monitors, to its product offerings and strengthening its existing offerings. 

The company has also radically transformed its business model during the pandemic. Before COVID, 95% of patient appointments were face-to-face; today, 85% of all appointments are performed virtually. Additionally, 75% of its workforce is remote. 

“We did that within a two-week span,” said Seitz. “We’ve invested in technology for our folks that allow them to work effectively—some didn’t have video capability. The biggest (concern) was how do we keep the culture going and one of the big pieces was being able to have those face-to-face calls.” 

An added bonus of investing in that technology has been expanding MSC’s hiring strategies as a growing company. 

“We used to look for folks that lived within the areas of our locations, and now we’re opening up recruitment nationwide so we can have a person supporting our Dayton, Ohio, area and be living in a totally different state,” said Seitz.