Reliable Medical: In it for the long haul

MINNEAPOLIS – Reliable Medical in August entered its third partnership as part of the company’s plan to grow “in an intentional manner” under CEO Katie Stevens. 

Reliable Medical, a portfolio company of Seven Hills Capital, has partnered with Complex Rehab Technologies in Stafford, Texas, after partnering with A&A Medical Supply in Ohio in 2020 and Med City Mobility in Minnesota in 2019. All deepen Reliable Medical’s foothold as “primarily a CRT company, without compromising our commitment to being a holistic HME provider,” says Stevens, who took the reins last year. 

“Complex Rehab Technologies was attractive on a number of levels,” she said. “Robert Barr, the founder and owner, is someone who has been in the industry for a long time and is dedicated for the right reasons. It’s a great company with a great culture. Texas is also a populous state and a stable payer state.” 

Reliable Medical is also growing organically. In August, it had recently opened a location in Eau Claire, Wis., and was also in the process of opening a location in Lexington, Ky., with others in the works. 

A common culture is the main focus of Reliable Medical’s partnership strategy, Stevens says, with the company dedicated to onboarding talent from its partnerships, like Rose Espinoza, the CEO of Complex Rehab Technologies, who she calls “an incredible talent” and who will be moving into a region vice president role. 

“It’s only those partnerships that make sense from a cultural perspective that work,” she said. “We have walked away from deals that made good financial sense but not good cultural sense.”    

Reliable Medical is able to preserve that culture by growing “in an intentional manner,” Stevens says. 

“We’re looking at a lot of growth opportunities, both organic and acquisitive, but doing it at a pace that keeps us from breaking the backs of our legacy team and respects what our partners have built,” she said. “We don’t need to unwind everything they’ve built over the course of their many years in their markets. We’re finding partners that have created spaces and models in their markets that we can learn from and support.” 

While Stevens expects partnerships to pick up with the COVID-19 pandemic “more in the rear-view mirror,” Reliable Medical will continue its moderate pace, she says. 

“We’re building a company for the long haul,” she said.