Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/50323
Vendors 30 HME NEWS / JANUARY 2012 / WWW.HMENEWS.COM Invacare, FDA in negotiations Gov't requests improvements at Elyria facilities BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor ELYRIA, Ohio – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has turned up the heat on Invacare. The FDA has proposed Invacare suspend certain operations at its corpo- rate and wheelchair man- ufacturing facilities in Elyria until the manufac- turer makes changes to its operations. Invacare announced Dec. 8 that it will work with the FDA to negotiate an agreement, called a con- sent decree, to address its concerns. "We're going to get this fixed," said Gerald Blouch, Invacare's president and CEO. "We're not victims here. We're taking this on and, at the end of the day, it will be a good thing." Gerald Blouch Earlier this year, the FDA sent a warning letter to Inva- care detailing concerns that the manufacturer failed to, among other things, correctly document allega- tions that some of the hospital beds made at its facility in Sanford, Fla., malfunctioned. Since it received that letter, Invacare has worked to improve its compliance with FDA policies by, for example, working with four outside consultants with experience in medical device regulations, Blouch said. "We have, for all issues, submitted work plans to the SHUT DOWN SEE PAGE 32 Betting on big After buying Inovo and ActiveCare Medical, Drive Medical banks on increased sales BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. – There's a lot of talk about consolidation in the provider market, but Harvey Diamond, president of Drive Medical, says it's happening to manufacturers, too. Diamond should know. In October, Drive Medical announced that it acquired not only Inovo/Chad Thera- peutics, but also ActiveCare Medical. "Unless you have critical mass, it's hard for some of the smaller manufacturers to survive," said Diamond, president. "It's very costly to do business today." Two of the difficulties facing manufacturers, including Drive Medical: skyrocketing raw material and freight costs. Additionally, currencies in Asia are working against, not for, manufacturers who do business there. BIG BET SEE NEXT PAGE Drive Medical integrates sales BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. – At Medtrade in October, the word on the show floor was that, after acquiring Inovo/ Chad Therapeutics earlier in the month, Drive Medical laid off Chad's sales staff. Judy Levin, Drive Medi- cal's chief marketing officer, confirmed in November that, beginning Jan. 1, 2012, Drive's sales team would take over selling Chad's product line. The move affects an undis- closed number of indepen- dent sales reps. "There was a lot of thought Suits and shovels Raleigh, N.C.-based ACHC achieved two milestones in October: The accreditation agency celebrated its 25th anniversary with a "Next Chapter Gala" on Oct. 28, and it broke ground on its new headquarters on Oct. 27. As part of the gala, ACHC raised $25,000 through sponsorships, ticket sales and a silent auction for the American Diabetes Association. Sponsors included Griffin Home Health Care and DMEtrain. About 200 people attended the event, where ACHC had on display a slideshow that provided an over- view of the agency's first 25 years, and a book written by President Tom Cesar, "The Next Chapter: Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence." "I think the next gala will be for 50 years," said Tracy Hinman, marketing and graphic designer specialist. "It was a lot of work, but it was worth it." ACHC expects its 30,000-square-foot new headquarters in Cary, N.C., to be completed in late 2012. and effort put into ensuring that there was a transition plan for the Chad sales staff STICK TO NEWS DHS keeps in touch BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Definitive Homecare Solutions (DHS) in 2011 sent out its 200th email newsletter to users of its CPR+ HME Software and Infusion Soft- ware programs. "When we did the 100th news- letter, we all kind of laughed," said Laura Pugh, who is the edi- tor of the newsletter and a cor- porate trainer for the company. "Everyone thought we'd do it for six weeks and quit. But we've stuck to it." The newsletter, called CPR+ Weekly, reaches 10,000 users each week. When it started in 2007, it reached 5,000. The main purpose of the news- letter, Pugh says: To notify users about training opportunities, sys- tem upgrades, special discounts and other information. "We always try to have train- ing information or other valuable information for customers," she said. "We have free training every DHS SEE NEXT PAGE and that they were treated with respect," Levin said. "I'm not at liberty to go into details, but they were given a very generous package." Inovo/Chad operates as a standalone division of Drive Medical and will continue to manufacture oxygen con- servers and regulators from its facility in Naples, Fla. Levin said "there are sev- eral people at Chad staying on" who will train Drive's sales team. "They're going to be divid- ing up the country and supporting the sales team, because it is an educated sale," she said. "This way the knowledge base not only transfers but spreads." HME BRIEFS Comfort Co, PDG partner BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Comfort Company has partnered with PDG Mobility to pro- vide customers with a complete selection of mobility solutions. Through the partner- ship, PDG wheelchairs will be available in the United States exclusively through The Comfort Company. In addition, PDG will offer The Comfort Company seating and positioning products as part of its product offerings. ECS meets standards DUBLIN, Ohio – ECS Billing & Consulting's North division has been accredited by the Healthcare Quality Association of America (HQAA). ECS is one of three billing compa- nies to receive this honor so far. By going through a survey process, ECS has met the standards of HQAA in areas of medical billing, training and business operations. BOC guides providers OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Board of Certifi- cation/Accreditation has published a new Accreditation Survival Guide to help DME facilities go through the process of becom- ing accredited or reaccredited. The guide features, among other things, four videos and a new user-friendly Accreditation Standards Guide. The four videos address: the importance of accreditation, the pro- cess of accreditation, preparing for a site survey and the process of reaccreditation. VGM creates new position WATERLOO, Iowa – The VGM Group has named Paul DiMarco to the newly cre- ated position of vice president-marketing. DiMarco was formerly the operations manager for VGM Forbin. In his new role, he will be responsible for VGM Utility Sales, VGM Creative, Strate- gic Media and Strategic Imaging. He'll also be responsible for VGM's internal website devel- opment and content management. Paul DiMarco Short takes Covidien has received the American Asso- ciation for Respiratory Care (AARC) Zenith Award for 2011. It's the 22nd consecutive year that Covidien has received this award, which "recognizes manufacturers and ser- vice organizations in the respiratory care industry for outstanding service"…Kim- berly-Clark Health Care has been named Company of the Year, Medical Device Cat- egory, DeVilbiss re-emerges .............................. 1 Manufacturers consolidate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 DHS keeps in touch with customers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Update: GF's "Made in USA" initiative ................ 31 ■ What products won awards at Medtrade? Well, the Mabis NebPak for one. See story page 32. in the PM360 Trailblazer Awards competition. Judging criteria included in- novations in marketing and advertising, talent development and social responsibili- ty…Roadnet Technologies, has launched a company blog at www.roadnet.com. The blog is written by a range of employees, from executives to the those in the front line working in product development, mar- keting and customer support.