Norco Medical is engaged, energized

BOISE, Idaho – Norco Medical has worked “from top to bottom” to be transparent and to keep employees engaged in the health of the business, and being recognized as the 2023 HME Provider of the Year is affirmation it’s “on the right path,” says Troy Johnson. 

“We have a lot more engagement that happens at all levels and I think, as a result, it's allowed our employees to feel comfortable being free thinkers and to be able to speak up and give ideas and offer suggestions of how we can continue to grow and advance,” said Johnson, executive vice president-medical.  

The family-owned Norco – now led by third-generation Nicole Kissler, CEO – opened its first medical branch in downtown Boise in 1989. Today, it has 45 medical branches. The company also has industrial branches, bringing its total number of branches to 80, and has more than 1,500 employees. 

In addition to building a bricks-and-mortar presence throughout its territory, Norco seeks to build community ties through the Kissler Family Foundation and encourages employees to do so, as well, says Johnson. 

“Norco and the Kissler family foundation give back to all the communities that we serve,” he said.  “We focus on health care, education and the betterment of mankind. It is exciting for employees to know that they're working for a company that's supporting their community.” 

Like other companies, Norco has faced numerous headwinds, including labor shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which have forced it to adapt, says Johnson. 

“We realized that a lot of the things we were doing weren't as efficient as they could have been,” he said. “To give an example, customers that would typically come to us were a little leery during the pandemic about coming into our stores. We created a curbside service that allowed patients the option to exchange cylinders and pick up routine supplies in a more comfortable environment.” 

Norco has also refocused on its core competencies: respiratory and complex rehab, says Johnson. 

“We built our company on providing anything and everything the customer needed, but you realize that makes it difficult to become great at any one area and it spread us pretty thin,” he said. “Oxygen has been our bread and butter during the entire existence of Norco, so we decided that we wanted to become a very strong respiratory company, and then of course we would continue to provide all of the other DME items and rental items that fit within our core.” 

For all its success, Norco feels a “tremendous responsibility” to use its 2023 Provider of the Year recognition as a springboard to accomplish greater things, says Johnson. 

“I don't want to just look back on 2023 as, ‘Yeah, that was a good year that we celebrated,’” he said. “I think everyone's energized by that same feeling that we're going to use this as motivation to become even better in the future.”