When Sandra and James Hoskin were leasing a small retail space in front of a Houston hotel in 1987, their landlord evicted them. He was selling the property to a buyer who needed the space. Vowing never to lease again, the co-owners of American Medical Equipment soon began property-hunting. This was the late ’80s, when “real estate wasn’t moving at all,” Sandra recalls. But the stale market ultimately worked to the couple’s advantage when they found a rundown piece of real estate — with enormous potential. “The owner really wanted to get rid of it,” Sandra says, adding that he actually dropped the price $100,000 and was willing to finance the purchase himself. The area had trash on the streets and relatively light traffic, “but...

An independent coalition of advocates has formed to address specific issues in the home medical equipment industry’s high-end rehabilitation sector. The National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART) will provide highly focused attention to the needs of suppliers and manufacturers who concentrate primarily on dealing in high-end rehab and assistive technology products. Based in Washington, D.C., the new organization was, at press time, scheduled to be operational in early February, according to Rita Hostak, vice president of government relations for Sunrise Medical, Longmont, Colo. Hostak will serve as NCART president and chairman of the board. “This is a critical time for rehab and assistive technology companies,” says Hostak. “There must be a concentrated effort in order to ensure access to the technology and services...