In brief: Pharmacy deserts, new CEO at National HME, OM donation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association and the University of Southern California are collaborating on a new interactive mapping tool that could promote health equity by identifying pharmacy shortage areas in the United States. The tool can also help policymakers see the consequences of pharmacy benefit manager practices that are believed to contribute to pharmacy access issues. The tool shows nearly one in four neighborhoods nationwide are pharmacy shortage areas. “Millions of Americans may live within what appears to be a modest distance to a pharmacy, but they don’t have a car or access to public transportation,” said B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the NCPA. “That severely limits their access to pharmacies in their area.” The tool defines pharmacy shortage areas as neighborhoods in which the nearest pharmacy is more than one mile away for urban, two miles away for suburban or 10 miles away for rural neighborhoods. The NCPA says these defined areas are in line with published peer-reviewed research. The association and USC will introduce the tool in the coming weeks via a series of webinars. 

National HME welcomes new CEO 

IRVING, Texas – National HME, a provider of DME solutions to hospice and alternate sites of care, has announced Jeffrey Waldman as its chairman of the board and CEO. Before joining National HME, Waldman spent 18 years at Henry Schein in executive roles in the U.S. and international distribution businesses, most recently as president of the medical device business unit. He was part of a leadership team that led the transformation of the company to become the No. 2 physician and alternate care distributor in the U.S., with approximately $4 billion in revenues. “I am very excited to be joining the National HME team,” said Waldman. “I believe National HME has a great business model and an extremely talented team. With leading technology in Hospice Cloud Pro, high-quality medical equipment, and skilled medical service technicians to support delivery and set up, National HME is positioned to be a leader in the expanding DME market.” National HME serves thousands of hospices through their more than 50 owned and operated locations around the United States and a robust partner network. 

Canadian Woman WOY announced 

TORONTO – VGM Canada has named Cindy Wickens as winner of the 2022 Canadian HME Woman of the Year Award. A founding partner in 2017 of XPerience Home Healthcare in Windsor, Ontario, Wickens has worked in the home healthcare industry since 1986. She started at Doncaster Medical and later became an owner of Motion Specialties Windsor. Wickens has also been an active firefighter for 33 years at the Lakeshore Fire Department where she was recently appointed to captain. “VGM Canada is proud to name Cindy as the first Canadian HME Woman of the Year,” said Dave Davies, president of VGM Canada. ““Her contributions to her company, the industry, and her community have been significant. Congratulations, Cindy!” The award was presented during a special presentation before the keynote at the Canadian Seating & Mobility Conference. 

Broda marks 40 years 

ST. LOUIS – Broda is celebrating more than 40 years in business and, to celebrate the milestone, it is asking providers to share a story about the company to enter to win a new Broda wheelchair. The company was founded in 1981 and entered the U.S. market in 1990. Its Comfort Tension Seating was patented in 1996 and its original tilt wheelchair design was patented in 1997. In 1998, the company was acquired by MITY and in 2020 it partnered with Motion Concepts to provide the Matrix Seating series. 

OM donates $100K to NAFC 

RICHMOND, Va. – The Owens & Minor Foundation has donated $100,000 to support programming and health equity scholarship opportunities through the National Association for Free and Charitable Clinics. The NAFC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that the medically underserved have access to affordable health care. “We deeply value the support of like-minded partners such as the Owens & Minor Foundation that are committed to the benefits of a community-based approach in improving access to healthcare,” said Nicole Lamoureux, president and CEO of the NAFC. “This contribution will help NAFC continue providing the vital support our member clinics and pharmacies rely on to deliver patient care to those in need.” The donation was presented at NAFC’s annual Charitable Healthcare Symposium by Dan Starck, executive vice president of Patient Direct for Owens & Minor and CEO of Apria. The NAFC represents more than 1,400 free and charitable clinics and pharmacies across the country. 

NHIA launches 2023 event 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Home Infusion Association has opened registration for its 2023 Annual Conference scheduled for March 25-29 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The event will feature four days of education content on topics selected by industry leading experts. It will also feature eight dedicated hours at an expo with the latest products and services to improve business operations and patient care. “NHIA is excited about opening registration for the 2023 conference and building on the momentum and energy of last year’s event, where we saw record attendance,” said NHIA’s President & CEO Connie Sullivan, BSPharm. “I am particularly thrilled about some of the new events and programs we have planned that will make this conference our best yet, including a DEIA General Session and Keynote, preconference seminar on reimbursement, and Innovation Award for product or service excellence.” NHIA will continue to offer more than 40 CE for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses and dietitians, as well as add a new offering of more than 20 CME for physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners across clinical, nursing and leadership tracks, as well as clinical-focused symposia.   

David Bedard joins ATF Medical 

NEWNAN, Ga. – David Bedard, ATP, C.H.A.M.P., has joined ATF Medical as manager of complex rehab technology. Bedard oversees day-to-day operations and quality assurance for a team of professionals who help workers comp payers obtain rehab and mobility equipment and adaptive housing solutions for injured workers. He also coordinates ongoing training for staff on products and services. “David’s vast knowledge of complex rehab equipment is a great asset to our clients,” said ATF Medical’s President and CEO Sid Glover. “And he shares our passion for equipping workers’ comp patients for a high quality of life.” Bedard brings more than three decades of rehab experience with workers’ comp, Medicare, Medicaid and group health payers to the position. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of quality assurance for Orchid Medical.  

VGM seeks speakers for Heartland Conference 

WATERLOO, Iowa – VGM is now accepting proposals from prospective speakers for its annual Heartland Conference. The conference committee is looking for speakers to offer their knowledge on a variety of topics related to the HME industry, including billing and reimbursement, business operations and leadership strategies. “The call for speakers for Heartland Conference 2023 is now open, and we could not be more excited,” said Kayla Mahler, Heartland education chair. “Our education lineup last year was such a success, and our goal is to always continue to improve from the year before. We want to cover as many topics as possible—all thought leaders and industry experts are welcome to submit their sessions to speak.” The Heartland Conference will take place June 12-14, 2023, at the Waterloo Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa. Speaker proposals are due Dec. 16. To submit your session, visit www.vgmheartland.com/speak and complete the online form. 

RestorixHealth adds Bowman to leadership team 

METAIRIE, La. – RestorixHealth, a wound care solutions company, has announced Jeff Bowman as their new division president of post-acute operations. He comes to RestorixHealth with more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of medical equipment and supplies in the post-acute environment, most recently at McKesson, where he led home care and home infusion distribution. “We are happy to welcome Jeff to our team, as he brings a wealth of experience to this important leadership position,” said Steve McLaughlin, CEO of RestorixHealth. “With his extensive post-acute and Part B experience, combined with his sales leadership, he is well equipped to guide and grow our post-acute business while expanding our value to our customers.” RestorixHealth currently serves more than 6,300 post-acute care facilities across all 50 states and maintains contracts with more than 2,400 commercial plans.