Straight from the Heartland

In a day of mega-corporations, mergers and acquisitions, keeping a small business afloat can be a challenge. But in 1986, former HME provider Van G. Miller formed a buying group to give independent providers an extra advantage.

Headquartered two miles from where Miller was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, The VGM Group has expanded to approximately 1,900 members and grown to include 14 other companies offering services such as insurance, financing and telecommunications consulting.

Miller, one of four recipients of HomeCare magazine’s 2004 HomeCaring Awards, also has helped to give small providers a voice in Washington as the group actively lobbies for HME causes.

“Tens of thousands of people have directly benefited from his caring, starting with his fellow employees and citizens in Waterloo,” says Wallace Weeks, one member of the seven-judge panel for the awards. “He has given his time, his capital and leveraged his care though other people for the benefit of this industry and the tens of millions we serve.”

Recently, HomeCare talked to Miller about his career.

HC: How did you get started working in the HME business?

Miller: I started working for Waterloo Sickroom Supply back in 1969 for about three months in preparation to buy the owner out. We couldn’t agree on the price, so I worked for Universal Hospital Services.

I grew fond of the industry right there. It was so much more rewarding delivering a nebulizer to a home patient than a bunch of equipment to a hospital. I saw the importance of home medical equipment because it could help keep people at home. And it was more than just being a delivery person because you also had to know how to in-service equipment.

HC: What gave you the idea to create a buying group 18 years ago?

Miller: I started Miller Medical Service in May of 1978. We were growing fast, but we didn’t have the money to keep growing like that, so I started a franchise program.

[After selling my interest in Miller Medical], it was very simple. If I wanted to stay in my hometown, I had to start my own business. It was a natural evolution to supply the services to independent providers that I had supplied through the franchise program. One of those is the buying power of group purchasing.

HC: What do you like the most about your job?

Miller: Being able to be interactive with the home medical equipment industry. That’s really the ticket. Part of that is helping independent HME companies do better. Our members would do fine without us, but we help them do a little better than they would on their own.

HC: Why is it important to give small providers a voice in Washington?

Miller: They’re a huge part of the service component. A lot of the small providers act as owners and operators, and in the service industry the owner/operator always seems to outshine the corporate model. It’s obvious the smaller independent dealers don’t have the resources to attend a lot of the meetings held in Washington D.C.

HC: How do you see the role of the small provider in the future?

Miller: I do not see their role diminishing at all. I think they will be just as strong if not stronger, basically because of the service component. Rehospitalization and frequent doctor’s visits are very costly. Providing proper service can save a huge amount of costs.

HC: What are your plans for the future?

Miller: To just keep having fun. To be able to work in this industry every day for the rest of my life, which I plan on doing — and having fun. This is the greatest industry that I think a person could be associated with.

Chosen from nominations sent in by readers, HomeCare magazine’s 2004 HomeCaring Awards were given to four recipients in recognition of distinguished service to the HME industry. HomeCare is proud to acknowledge the talent, dedication and generous spirit of those who make the HME community a better place, and who demonstrate the caring that HME is all about.