Reliable Medical strives for ‘one system’

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Reliable Medical has grown significantly in the past three years and now it has a new CEO that can help the company “catch up.” 

Charles Sargeant, who was previously Reliable Medical’s COO and who has more than 20 years of experience at National Seating & Mobility and Apria Healthcare, was named CEO this summer, replacing Katie Stevens, who is now the company’s chief people officer. 

“The company has grown rapidly and evolved quickly, and as I looked at the needs of the business, I wanted to bring someone on board with significant industry experience and operational experience,” Stevens said. “I knew we were entering a new chapter, and I knew we needed that focus. Charles is excellent at executing in those areas, but more than anything, based on my experience with him, I feel lucky that there is cultural alignment, and he is a person I trust and enjoy working with.” 

Since 2022, Reliable Medical, which is backed by Nashville-based Seven Hills Capital, has made several acquisitions, including Revolution Access in Asheville, N.C., earlier this year; Tusk Mobility in Northpoint, Ala., and Capstone Medical Partners in Lakewood, Wash., in 2023; and Orbit Medical in Chicago in late 2022.  

One of Sargeant’s first goals for Reliable Medical is standardizing and formalizing the company’s procedures from location to location. 

“The company has experienced incredible growth, brought on organically or by acquisition, and they each have wonderful ways of driving their business and taking care of their clients,” he said. “We’re really taking some of the best practices and the best processes – whether they’re traditional Reliable’s or Orbit’s or Capstone’s – and getting them across the organization and getting us on one system.” 

It’s a tall order, but Sargeant’s experience – which spans starting off as a tech; working his way up to various roles of increasing responsibility, including regional and then senior vice president of operations; and becoming chief revenue cycle officer at NSM – makes him well suited for the job, he says. 

“It has been a great opportunity to work in many positions and many capacities,” he said. “But it was also a great opportunity to grow and mature companies and see the necessity for consistency.”  

In addition to being impacted by delivering nebulizers to small children and oxygen concentrators to cancer patients early in his career, Sargeant also has a personal connection to the industry that drives and motivates him – a daughter who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at two years old. 

“I understand the importance to people of what we do,” he said. “It’s why I love the industry.”