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For more
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2003
Best Home Medical Equipment Provider
Home Care Medical
stresses the positive
By John Andrews, contributing
editor
Ninety of 150 Home Care MedicaL team members show off their suburban Milwaukee
headquarters and two of their 16 new trucks with a new design.
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NEW BERLIN, Wis. – Some
might say it’s awfully hard for an HME provider
to be upbeat at a time when Congress is close to
instituting national competitive bidding, but Home
Care Medical is merrily rolling along.
Winning the top HME Excellence Award in the Home
Medical Equipment category may have something to
do with that, but for President John Teevan, a
company’s
attitude is what determines its success – or lack thereof.
“We don’t let ourselves get caught up in a lot of negative energy,” Teevan
said. “This company’s success is centered around a team that remains
proficient, remains excited and keeps looking forward.”
When the competitive bidding discussion started, Teevan said his organization
remained composed and sought out ways to capitalize on a potentially disadvantageous
situation. The result, he said, is a confident outlook no matter what happens
on Capitol Hill.
“We didn’t freak out – we looked for ways to position ourselves
so that we could take advantage of it if it became reality,” Teevan said. “We
figured some version would emerge, either now or later, and we did what we could
to position ourselves so that it would benefit our bottom line, whether it meant
greater efficiency or negotiating better vendor deals.”
The company operates under three core principles:
- Provide the best quality products and services available
- Hit or exceed budget
- Have fun
Creating an enjoyable work environment should be taken seriously, Teevan maintains,
because it fosters loyalty from both staff and clients.
“If you’re just cranking out stuff and your prices are out of whack,
your clients know it,” he said. “Financial stability is important,
of course, but you can have fun while you’re doing it.”
A light-hearted atmosphere also inspires creativity, Teevan said. For example,
Home Care Medical is introducing a new fleet of service trucks featuring panels
that “tell a story,” he said.
“Typical vans with the company’s logo in bold letters are pretty
dull,” he said. “Our new trucks will show pictures of people enjoying
themselves. They’ll carry the tagline ‘Getting on with life, Home
Care Medical makes it possible.’”
Teevan acknowledges that there are areas where the company needs to improve,
but says he feels pretty satisfied with it overall.
“The HME Excellence Award is not given to the perfect HME provider – it
goes to the best,” he said. “We know where our warts are and we’re
working on them. But it does validate what we feel about ourselves and what we
do everyday.”
Home Care Medical
Headquarters:
New Berlin, Wis.
Age: 29-year-old company
Employees: 143
Accreditation: JCAHO
Memberships: MED Group, WAMES
Payer Mix: 52% managed care, 24% Medicare, 15% Medicaid, 9% private pay
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