Mistakes Happen

ATLANTA — If you talk to a consultant long enough, you
realize quickly that there are no “mistakes” in the land of
corporate speak, only “learning opportunities.” By the same token,
there are no “problems,” only “challenges.”

But HME owners toiling in the school of hard knocks know better.
Mistakes happen, and they can be costly.

• Cindy Ciardo of Knueppel HealthCare didn’t anticipate a
  five-year headache when a local hospital approached her about
  opening a women’s health specialty shop.

• Black Bear Medical’s Jim Greatorex didn’t know the assistive
  approach his staff used with complex rehab patients wouldn’t be
  appreciated by other customers when he added a uniform line.

• Peter Czapla of Quality Home Healthcare says he sometimes can’t
  resist a good bargain, and that leads to disappointment.

With the changing face of health care, lower reimbursements
galore and general industry upheaval, minimizing mistakes is
important.

Learn from these providers’ stories and others in My Biggest Mistake,
available online and in the May 2011 print edition.