Rehab Medical thrives as regional player

INDIANAPOLIS - Jarrad Rankin has done such a good job building up Rehab Medical's book of complex rehab business that he was given a larger managerial role at the company in January.

Rankin, formerly director of rehab, has been promoted to director of operations, a position where he'll oversee service, purchasing and insurance review company-wide.

“We were a standard DME company that added complex rehab in 2011 and now it's pretty much 75% of our business,” said Rankin, who started working at Rehab Medical in 2005 as a sales assistant and worked his way up.

Rehab Medical does business in more than a dozen metro markets in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Georgia.

In a highly competitive complex rehab market dominated by two national players, Rankin is tight lipped about the secrets to Rehab Medical's success.

“We've survived with some really great leadership,” he said of the company's president and CEO. “They've done a great job adapting to the changing environment and changing reimbursement, and changing our model. One of the biggest things that has helped us thrive is our model and how it's different.”

When asked how, Rankin said, “It's unique.”

One clue: In 2017, Rehab Medical acquired Crow Creek Therapeutics, a Columbus, Ohio-based wound care company that provides therapeutic support surfaces, in a move that not only diversifies its product portfolio but also leverages the synergies between the two businesses, Rankin says.

“We're just starting to merge some of the business models,” he said.

With Rankin now more focused on the big picture, Rehab Medical has also added William “Rusty” Mattingly as ATP clinical manager to focus on developing staff, technicians and ATPs, as well as improving patient experience. The company has about two dozen ATPs on staff, many of them part of the “new generation” of ATPs, Rankin says.

“It's nice to see people get into such a niche market,” he said, “and provide such great service. We're all just excited about making a difference in people's lives.”