When in Rome

ROME, N.Y. - The HME landscape looks plenty different than it did when Martin J. Nunn started Nunn's Hospital Supplies. But 75 years and one name change later, Nunn's Home Medical Equipment and its third-generation owners are still focused on providing the same kind of personalized care to a growing New York region.

Nunn's has expanded beyond its Rome, N.Y., headquarters with two acquisitions in the past 17 months. Last month, the company announced it had acquired Tri-County Home Care's assets, excluding its Veterans Affairs customers. The move strengthens the company's presence in the Syracuse region, as well as its core business of respiratory products. It follows the acquisition of Rothschild's Home Health Care of Syracuse in December 2015.

“My grandfather started it and it was built on the trust of the community,” said Erin Weiman, the COO, who runs the company with her mother, Sheila Nunn Murphy, and her husband, Shawn Weiman. “Everyone trusted Nunn's would take good care of them. Especially in Rome, half the people who walk in we know personally. We do feel obligated to take good care of everyone.”

Nunn's primary area of focus is respiratory products, although its CPAP business is quickly growing, Weiman said. As it grows, however, the company is moving away from participation in Medicare, focusing on private insurance and retail customers, which make up a 60-40 split in Syracuse. When working with insurance companies, the focus is on selling Nunn's as a value-based model.

“We'll show you how good we are to your patients,” Weiman said. “Our compliance rate is about 85%, which is a lot higher than the national average. We save them on the upstream costs.”

Not surprisingly, the company has been in a growth mode for the past five years, although always cautious about taking steps that will benefit the longevity of the company, Weiman said. Adding Tri-County was a natural fit since the company mostly focused on respiratory products. Nunn's retail presence in Syracuse and Rome also boosts its profile by offering patients a place to compare products in a comfortable, convenient setting with trained respiratory
therapists.

“At this point in our industry, it's sink or swim,” Weiman said. “With opportunities that have come up, we've taken them. We just have to keep reinventing
ourselves.”