AA Homecare Appoints Thomas H. Ryan as President and Chief Executive Officer

WASHINGTON—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare), the primary advocacy organization representing home respiratory, mobility, infusion therapy and medical equipment providers nationwide, announced that Thomas H. Ryan will join the Association in early September as president and chief executive officer (CEO). In this capacity, Ryan will be responsible for executing the Association’s strategic plan and leading the Association’s legislative advocacy, membership development and regulatory affairs initiatives in conjunction with the Washington, D.C.-based staff and the Association’s Board of Directors.

Earlier this year, the Association announced that Tyler J. Wilson, president and CEO since 2006, would leave the organization in September 2013. Ryan and Wilson will work collaboratively to effect a smooth transition.

Ryan has more than 30 years of experience in the home respiratory and medical equipment business, starting as a respiratory therapist. He has spent the last 25 years as the president and CEO of the company he founded, Homecare Concepts Inc., a Farmingdale, N.Y.-based provider of home oxygen therapy, sleep apnea therapy and traditional durable medical equipment serving patients in greater New York City and western Long Island. In this capacity, he was deeply involved in the operational, financial, sales and strategic planning functions of the company. From 2005 through 2007, Ryan served AAHomecare as chairman of the Board after fulfilling various roles on the Executive Committee for nine years. During part of that time he served briefly as acting president and CEO of the Association while a replacement was recruited. Past roles on the Board include treasurer, chair of the Legislative Committee and serving as a member of the Home Medical Equipment/Respiratory Therapy Council.

Robert Steedley, president of Barnes Healthcare Services in Valdosta, Ga., and chairman of AAHomecare’s Board of Directors, commented, “We are very excited that after an extensive executive search involving a field of highly-qualified external candidates, as well as those with homecare industry experience, Tom Ryan emerged as the clear choice to lead our Association in the future. His real-life, practical experience as a homecare provider and entrepreneur enables him to relate to our members in a way that few association CEOs can. His past roles on the AAHomecare Board and various Association committees, combined with his experience in advocating on the industry’s behalf at both the state and federal level, give him the expertise necessary to hit the ground running in his new role.”

“On behalf of the Association’s Board of Directors and all members nationwide, I also want to thank Tyler for his significant contributions to the Association over the past seven years, and for his consummate professionalism as we worked through the transition period over the past few months,” Steedley added. “His leadership enabled AAHomecare to remain focused on its main legislative goal, which is to address the serious shortcomings of the Medicare competitive bidding program by replacing it with a more rational, fair and truly competitive market pricing program. We wish him well in his next endeavor and hope that our paths will cross again in the future.”

As Ryan moves into his new position in Washington, D.C., his business partner Frank Brown will concurrently assume the role of president and CEO of Homecare Concepts. The company, which celebrated its 25-year anniversary this year, will continue serving patients in New York and implementing its own strategic plan. Ryan will be based in AAHomecare’s Washington, D.C., office.

In addition to his clinical respiratory therapy background, Ryan also graduated from Saint John’s University in New York with a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration in 1979 and has a history of board service. He is a current and founding board member of the New York State Association of Medical Equipment Providers, serving on its board for over 20 years and as chairman from 1999 to 2001. He is an appointed member—representing clinicians and providers—of the National Home Oxygen Patients Association, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit advocacy organization for patients who require home oxygen therapy. Ryan has also been active in his hometown community, serving on the Board of Directors of St. Joseph Hospital where he has chaired the Quality Committee and served as a member of the Finance Committee. In past years, he served as vice chair of the Board of New Island Hospital before its sale to a new owner. In 2012, Ryan ran for and was elected trustee of the Village of Farmingdale, N.Y., with responsibility for overseeing all Village departments, budgeting, securing bonds and more.

“My perspective as an experienced CEO in the very same industry this Association represents will provide the compassion and drive to navigate the Association through many upcoming challenges associated with numerous public policy changes that have been put into place in recent years,” Ryan commented. “My goal is to be a collaborative bridge builder with all of the various stakeholders involved in this health care sector—from providers to Congress to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—and to be a passionate voice for the industry, not just in Washington, but across the country where our members and our state association leaders live and work.”

Earlier this year, AAHomecare and the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) completed a merger that brought over 150 new member companies into the Association. In early August, AAHomecare merged with the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America (AMEPA), increasing membership by additional 60 companies. Integration of the three organizations over the next few months will create an even stronger, more unified industry group. AAHomecare will continue to grow as the leading advocacy association representing the broadest cross-section of the industry.

The American Association for Homecare represents durable medical equipment providers, manufacturers, and others in the homecare community that serve the medical needs of millions of Americans who require oxygen systems, wheelchairs, medical supplies, inhalation drug therapy, and other medical equipment and services in their homes. Members operate more than 3,000 homecare locations in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.aahomecare.org.