Moving On

Winston Churchill once said, “Eating words has never given me indigestion.” I wish that I could say the same … but how many times have I had to suffer that?

I also wish there was a way I could tell you all how much fun I have had these past almost 60 years. I would love the ability to shake the hand of every person in this industry I have met, because I doubt that anyone has met with or worked with nicer people than I.

I am sitting here at my desk and allowing all the fond memories that I have gathered these many years to show themselves again, and this is going to be a very long session. I can go all the way back to 1945 when I was transferred from the 252nd Combat Engineers in Berlin to the pharmacy at the 279th Station Hospital.

I grew up in a pharmacy and was just beginning my education at Brooklyn College of Pharmacy (LIU) when I got the call to become a soldier. My good fortune was that the officer in charge at the hospital had more than sufficient points to go home, but there was no replacement in the Berlin district.

How they came up with my name is a long story, but that experience changed my entire outlook on life. I have to thank my Captain, who provided this transfer! I learned about people and how to share what one has with everyone.

When I returned home, I went back to college and graduated in 1950. In one week I took my pharmacy licensing board exams and married the most beautiful woman in the world. Here it is almost 58 years later, and that woman, Thelma, is still one of the loveliest women there is as you all know. I have maintained my license to practice pharmacy, and it still hangs proudly in my office. (I apologize for that bit of sentiment.)

I owned and operated four pharmacies during my 16 years in that end of the business. From my very first pharmacy in Rosedale, N.Y., we sold over-the counter DME products.

I still recall the first wheelchair I sold and the time I had to locate an IPPB machine. I have to admit that I had no idea what that acronym (intermittent positive pressure breathing) meant or where to locate a machine, but the nice people at Bennett were helpful in guiding me through that difficulty.

Back in the early 1950s, I realized how important durable medical equipment was and how few places there were to obtain it. It was where my partner and I had to go. We did, and have never rued the day we entered this field.

I was active in all the pharmacy associations. I became a partner in Anthony Ambulance and Oxygen in Long Island, N.Y. When I was invited by General Medical to join their team, that became another turning point in my career.

I became active in HIDA (Health Industry Distributors Association), and that was when I learned how necessary it is for small operators to be part of a major association to get the work out and help chart legislation and regulations.

Today, I feel you are all very fortunate when I recognize the caliber of the many state DME associations and the work that the American Association for Homecare performs on your behalf. If I can leave just one legacy then it must be to support them, because you cannot survive without them.

After nearly 10 exciting and very fruitful years with General Medical, I left to become an independent entrepreneur. I started in Worcester and then went to upstate New York to become a manufacturers rep. This experience provided the next step of my career.

In 1986, I had the opportunity to relocate to sunny Florida working with a local university, and there was where all our thoughts were worked out. Thelma and I talked about the inability of small, independent dealers to compete in a very competitive market. We organized the Homecare Providers Co-op.

Things worked out very well, and the co-op grew. Every week we sent out a four-page newsletter filled with ideas to build from and everything else our members told us. This was fun!

The co-op held conventions every year, and that was basically our “university.” When I recall the wonderful people that came to share their knowledge with our members, I am filled with pride. The list of speakers we heard could easily become the faculty of a very fine school.

Our board of directors did not want the Homecare Providers Co-op to become too large so as not to lose the one-on-one capability that had developed. I still hear from many of many of our members. If and when any former members read this column, please send an email telling Thelma and me where you are and a little about your company. I promise to respond.

Enough about this C.O.C. (cantankerous old curmudgeon).

Next year will be a very critical year for all health care in the United States. The cost of providing care has skyrocketed far quicker than any other segment of our nation’s budget and is now at a breaking point. I pray that our Congress will have enough common sense to work together for every citizen.

I am appalled at the way conservatives and liberals refuse to listen to one another. How can we get the message across that Democrats and Republicans are all loyal American citizens?

Each party offers good programs, and if the people in them would sit down like the professionals I think they are, cull out the excess and blend ideas together, then we could see this difficulty resolved.

In my role as director of government relations for a major HME manufacturer, it has been my privilege to travel to Washington under the auspices of AAHomecare or by myself to speak with our elected officials.

They are all very polite and courteous when I visit, but I recognize that one person cannot accomplish what all of us, working together, can. When your national association speaks, they have to be able to let the legislators know that they are speaking for an entire industry and every beneficiary of their services.

HME/DME providers and pharmacies can prove to be the most effective weapon to get things done in cooperation with our state and national associations. When we speak with our patients and customers, we can let hem know who supports them and suggest to whom they should give their votes. Grassroots advocacy is a powerful tool, and one that can be very effective.

So I will end my last “Shelly Sez” message to you with only one request: Join your state DME association and your national association now. There is no longer a tomorrow; it is now, it is today, so please do it.

You have a bright future, and I hope you never get frightened by what you hear or see as the industry’s challenges.

Build from your strengths. Develop OTC cash sales. Send out salespeople, solicit schools, industry and physicians. Look into the potential of home telehealth. Study the articles in HomeCare magazine and other industry journals for ideas. Work with your preferred vendors.

God bless you all. My best wishes go to each and every reader of HomeCare and “Shelly Sez.” Thank you!

Editor’s Note: To correspond with Shelly Prial (that is, when he is not off visiting a country he hasn’t yet seen or attending another Rotary meeting with Thelma in some far-flung location), email: [email protected].

Sheldon “Shelly” Prial is based in Melbourne, Fla., with Prial Consulting and also serves as the director of government relations for Atlanta-based Graham-Field Health Products. In 1987, he founded the Homecare Providers Co-op, now part of The VGM Group. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].