Provider works 'to leave a mark'

MULLINS, S.C. - To prepare for whatever Medicare throws its way, Home Therapy Inc. has been shaking things up.

First off, Home Therapy has moved into a new location-a former Chrysler dealership-that gives the respiratory provider and its products more visibility.

"It's seven times bigger than our old location, so now we can display everything we have more properly," said Susan Siders, owner. "Everyone comes into the new location and says, 'You've added all this stuff,' and I say, 'No, we had it; you just couldn't see it.'"

In conjunction with moving to the new location, Home Therapy closed its Little River location and consolidated everything in Mullins. Because Little River is only 45 minutes away, however, the provider can still serve its patients there, Siders said.

Second, Home Therapy has put new emphasis on making the act of buying HME "a shopping experience, not a depressing experience," Siders said.

"If there's a walker with flowers or a camouflage print on it, we're going to try to get that walker," she said. "We want to make it a little more pleasant, because people don't want to admit they need a walker."

Third, Home Therapy plans to diversify into uniforms.

"Right now, people have to drive 45 minutes to get uniforms and there's a hospital, Marion County Medical Center, a mile and a half down the street," Siders said.

Being an HME provider is one of the most challenging and most rewarding things Siders has ever done, she said.

"You work most of your life to make a living and now I'm working to leave a mark," said Siders, who, before becoming an HME provider, worked for a hospital for six years, running its sleep lab.