Arcadia to Test Wal-Mart Waters

SOUTHFIELD, Mich.–The latest in a list of HME providers to move
operations into Wal-Mart, Arcadia Resources said Wednesday it has
leased space in one of the giant retailer’s Florida stores. Located
inside a Wal-Mart in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Arcadia-branded
store will sell its full line of DME and respiratory equipment,
including sleep apnea equipment and nebulizers, wheelchairs,
scooters, stair lifts and beds along with other patient safety and
mobility items.

According to Arcadia Chairman and CEO John Elliott II, the
company expects to continue expanding direct-to-consumer DME sales
through retail channels and walk-in medical clinics.

Through a partnership with Physicans’ Organization of Western
Michigan to provide medical oversight, the company announced in
June that it plans to open nine walk-in clinics staffed by its
nurse practitioners in Meijer superstores in Indiana. In October,
the company opened six Sears Home Health Care centers selling DME
in the Detroit area, and earlier last year gained licensing rights
to distribute Sears’ Shop at Home catalog of home health and
wellness products. (See HomeCare Monday, Oct. 11, 2005.)

Arcadia, which provides home care and staffing services, mail
order pharmacy and DME, reported $105.3 million in revenues in
2005. The company has made more than 20 acquisitions within the
past two years. Last month, Arcadia began trading on the American
Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KAD.