Joerns to Refocus on Medical Equipment

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina—Joerns Healthcare, a vertically integrated, provider of medical equipment and services to U.S. post-acute care, announced it will refocus the entirety of its resources on its medical equipment sales and services business. The strategy requires a planned exit of its institutional long-term care rental services business and customer notifications began Nov. 20.

“Today’s announcement represents the execution of the next milestone in our strategy to prioritize investments and resources on our core medical equipment sales business to better serve our customers,” said CEO Taylor Smith. “Since the pandemic, there has been a noticeable shift in the preferred acquisition model away from renting. Customers are instead continuing to choose to own assets in a time of challenged census, increasing operational expenses and with changes in the reimbursement from fee-for-service to a patient-directed model. We’re following the customer’s lead as we’ve done for over a century.”

Joerns offers wound care, bed equipment, Hoyer lifts and bariatric specialty equipment, among other products and services. 

Going forward, the company will continue its 134-plus-year legacy as a vertically integrated, value-added manufacturer of high-quality medical equipment essential to sub-acute patients. Joerns has already embarked on a multimillion-dollar capital improvement project for its 300,000-square-foot, purpose-built manufacturing and supply chain facilities in North America. This investment will build even greater capabilities and capacity going forward to remove costs for their customers.

“This next phase of our journey further champions a focus on the core business and reinvestment in innovation,” said Doug Ferguson, chief strategy officer of Joerns Healthcare. “We are dedicated to bringing the highest quality products and care-empowering technologies, driven by customer insight, to the marketplace. Exciting solutions like our Connexio IoT (Internet of Things) platform, available with our leading bed systems, are targeted at saving labor time while creating care efficiencies, improving equipment utilization, and optimizing clinical practice. We believe these solutions are aligned to the key challenges of our customers now and for their future ahead.”

Joerns said it is committed to working with its current rental customers and their alternative rental service providers to ensure the smoothest transition for their business and uninterrupted resident care.