Author

Lynn Schenkman

  • Operations

    A Fresh Approach

    Running a successful HME and attracting referral sources is challenging, but it doesn’t have to be brain surgery. “I think ordering oxygen should be as easy as ordering a pizza,” says Jason Seeley, the 29-year-old vice president of Columbus, Ohio-based DASCO Home Medical Equipment. DASCO runs its HME business on simple philosophies and a youthful spirit that have been parlayed into measurable growth. The company has seven locations throughout Ohio, and the 7,500-square-foot main office in Columbus currently is undergoing an expansion to 16,000 square feet. The company reported more than $10 million in revenue for 2003, and Seeley says that’s a 30 percent increase over sales in 2002, when the sales team he implemented began putting the young man’s business strategy to work. DASCO...

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  • HME Products

    Adapting to Style

    Adaptive clothing is not known for its fashionable qualities, but that’s no reason it has to look unfashionable, according to New York designer Jacquelyn Pepe. Inspired to lend adaptive clothing some fashion savvy, Pepe has launched a line of adaptive clothing called PepEase that she hopes will inspire confidence in its wearers. Developed under the guidance of Dr. Vijay Vadd of the New York-based Hospital for Special Surgeries, Pepe’s designs meet the essential criteria of adaptive clothing: They must be designed to roll flat so people can roll or can be rolled into the clothes; they must use snaps — not Velcro — as fasteners; and they must be roomy enough to accommodate catheters and IV bags. Beyond that, Pepe says, she chooses comfortable, washable...

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  • Aging in Place

    It Takes a Team

    Many patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis will tell you they could quit their jobs and retire to Hawaii if they had a dime for every time they heard, “but you don’t look sick.” During March, national MS Education and Awareness Month, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF) is launching a campaign called “It Takes a Team to Tackle MS” to raise public awareness about this increasingly visible disease, which affects approximately 2.5 million people worldwide. The MSF also is educating MS patients themselves about the medical products that can ease their symptoms. The campaign includes several educational initiatives, product promotions and grant giveaways the foundation hopes will attract the attention of HME providers. MS is an autoimmune disease that is not contagious or fatal, but its...

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  • A State of Independents

    Three years ago, when large companies subsisted on a steady diet of independent home medical equipment providers, a group of colleagues banded together

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  • Providers

    The Fruits of His Labor

    Dennis Sharpe’s duties as national sales manager for MK Battery aren’t any less demanding just because he works from his home in the fertile wine valleys of California. Approximately 50 times each year, he takes off in a twin-prop airplane from the Paso Robles municipal airport to visit sales associates and attend industry events across the country. Sharpe has been intimately involved in outfitting people with mobility equipment for 29 years, and for that, HomeCare honors him with a Caring Award. In 1986, when MK Battery was located in a converted doughnut shop, Sharpe joined the Anaheim, Calif.-based company. Since then, he has seen MK Battery grow from two to 20 warehouses in the United States, and several more in Canada and the United Kingdom....

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  • Providers

    Making Progress

    Through 25 years, and several hair-styles, Simon Margolis has found purpose in a profession often misunderstood. Vice president for clinical and professional development of National Seating and Mobility, Chattanooga, Tenn., and president and founding member of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA), Margolis is one of six recipients of HomeCare magazine’s Caring Awards. Each winner was chosen for demonstrated commitment and service to the HME community. Recently, HomeCare talked to Margolis about his career and his dedication to the rehab technology field. HC: You’ve been in the durable medical equipment industry for 25 years. What motivates you? Margolis: From my standpoint there isn’t anything else I would prefer doing. After a while, you start seeing the industry and the profession...

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