NSM sees year of renewal ahead
By Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Updated 4:23 PM CDT, Mon March 29, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Even as the COVID-19 pandemic surged in 2020, National Seating & Mobility completed two of its biggest milestones: It signed an exclusive national partnership with The Home Depot and it closed its largest acquisition to date of Travis Medical.
At home at The Home Depot
NSM currently offers “Independent Living Services” from 250 Home Depot stores and plans to offer them from 1,300 stories by the end of 2021, says Bill Mixon, CEO.
“We’re their provider of home access solutions through their platform, both through their stores and on their website,” he said. “It’s a great partnership. They obviously have a super brand – people look to The Home Depot for solutions in their home.”
In February, NSM announced that it added home access options at its Las Vegas branch and that it planned to bring its partnership with The Home Depot to the area this spring.
Mega merger
When NSM bought Austin, Texas-based Travis Medical, it bought the self-described “third largest” complex rehab company in the industry, with 27 locations in 23 markets in the Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and the Pacific Northwest.
“It was a mutual thing,” said Mixon of how the deal was something both NSM and Travis Medical pursued. “We just felt our culture aligned, and we had the same values and mission orientation in the marketplace. We knew we had the ability to come together in Texas.”
Chris Yule, formerly CEO of Travis Medical, is now senior vice president of payer relations and government affairs for NSM.
The year for renewal
With nearly a year under its belt of continuing to serve patients during a pandemic – the company performed 25% of evaluations remotely in 2020 – NSM feels “optimistic” about 2021, Mixon says.
“We’re hopeful that as we approach springtime, we’re going to enter a period of renewal, not only in our business but also in our country,” he said. “We believe, as we get vaccinated and as we begin to return to normal, we’re very confident about our ability to thrive. We’ve had, since March of 2020, this monkey on our back and as that goes away, things are going to feel easy, and we’re proud of that.”
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