In brief: Stance Health launches, Tycon Medical reports cyberattack, Eastern MedTech continues build out  

TUSTIN, Calif. – SG Homecare and Western Drug Medical Supply will form one company called Stance Health Solutions. Jay Wendt announced on LinkedIn that the company will be rolling out its new brand both internally and externally over the first three months of the new year. “Exciting times for this growing organization,” he said. Wendt, CEO of SG Homecare, will serve as CEO of Stance Health Solutions. SG Homecare, along with its private equity sponsor Sverica Capital, acquired Western Drug Medical Supply in April 2024. “Over the last eight months, we have been working hard to bring the two organizations together to form one united company,” Wendt said. Combined, SG Homecare and Western Drug Medical Supply, which offer a full range of HME, have more than $150 million in annual revenue, 28 locations and more than 500 employees.   

Soleo Health opens suite in Denver 

FRISCO, Texas, and GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Soleo Health has opened a new ambulatory infusion suite in the metro Denver area to complement its existing home infusion service offerings. The company already operates a specialty pharmacy nearby in Centennial, Colo. The Soleo Health Denver AIS is located just minutes from major medical centers and easily accessible to major highways. If features private infusion suites and is staffed with experienced registered nurses caring for patients with complex, rare or ultra-rare conditions, such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), dermatomyositis, myasthenia gravis (MG), primary immunodeficiencies (PI) and thyroid eye disease (TED) as well as multiple sclerosis (MS), Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ulcerative colitis (UC), among others. It offers appointments with flexible times, including weekends. In December, Soleo Health opened an ambulatory infusion suite in Farragut, Tenn., just outside of Knoxville, further extending its care into the state. 

Study links childhood smoking, COPD 

MIAMI – Childhood smoking before age 15 increases a person’s risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a recent study published in the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. “Our study suggests that a person with a childhood smoking history has an increased risk of developing COPD, regardless of current smoking status, smoking duration, cigarette pack years and exposure to secondhand smoke,” said Laura M. Paulin, MD, M.H.S, a pulmonologist at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and senior author of the study. “Critical lung development occurs in childhood and early adolescence, making children’s lungs particularly susceptible to damage caused by cigarette smoking. These findings highlight the need for additional public health efforts to reduce, and ultimately prevent, childhood smoking.” A previous study using data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey showed that COPD was more prevalent in adults who began smoking prior to 15 years of age (childhood smoking) compared to those who began after 15 years of age, regardless of their current smoking status and lifetime cigarette use. In this new study, the authors expanded on previous research and examined whether childhood smoking before age 15 increased the likelihood of a person developing COPD later in life, even after accounting for possible secondhand smoke exposure. The new research examined a nationally representative sample of adults 40 years of age and older from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study. 

Tycon Medical reports cyber incident 

NORFOLK, Va. – Tycon Medical Systems, a HME provider and distributor based here, has filed a notice with the Attorney General of Massachusetts of a cybersecurity incident that affected personal information. In a letter to customers, the company provides information about placing security freezes on their credit reports through Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. It also offers customers the opportunity to enroll in complementary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services, including 24 months of credit and CyberScan monitoring, a $1 million insurance reimbursement policy and fully managed identify theft recovery services, through IDX, a data breach and recovery services expert. Tycon, which also has an office in Richmond, provides custom manual and power wheelchairs, CPAP devices, mobility aids and HME. It employs about 28 people. 

Eastern MedTech adds ‘financial health’ focus  

BOSTON – Eastern MedTech, a provider of CGM, sleep therapy, urological and maternity products, has announced that Michael Rabinovsky has joined the team as director of financial health optimization to oversee a new department with the same focus. Rabinovsky has more than 10 years of experience in medical billing, as well as a depth and breadth of knowledge of all aspects of current and emerging technology, the company says.  “We’re excited to welcome Michael to the Eastern MedTech team,” said Peter Falkson, CEO & founder at Eastern MedTech. “Michael’s unique experience with DME revenue cycle management and emerging technology, including large language-based machine learning models, gives him the unique ability to re-think how Eastern MedTech will obtain it’s 2025 goal of Zero-Defect front-end intake, all the way through to Zero Defect revenue collections.” Eastern MedTech also recently appointed Heather Davis as vice president of national value-based care contracting.   

NCART seeks to make telehealth flexibilities permanent 

WASHINGTON – Now that Congress has extended telehealth flexibilities through March 2025, NCART says it will continue to work toward a permanent solution that allows PTs and OTs to receive coverage under Medicare for remote services related to the provision of complex rehab technology products. To preserve and protect access to CRT and promote continuity of care for beneficiaries, the organization says it will continue to advocate for permanently including PT and OT codes used in the provision of CRT on the Medicare Telehealth Services list, which CMS reviews and updates each year. “NCART will look for opportunities to support the continuation of this important initiative when the new administration takes office,” it stated in a recent bulletin. PTs and OTs were included in the expansion of telehealth services in 2020 during the COVID-19 public health emergency. NCART says these flexibilities have allowed beneficiaries to participate in the required specialty evaluation remotely; mitigated transportation challenges and cost for beneficiaries; provided beneficiaries with greater access to clinicians with the knowledge, skills and experience in wheelchair evaluations; and provided clinicians with visual access to the home environment.