Home Medical Supply to move to Glenstone location

by Paul Schreiber

SBJ Reporter

pschreiber@sbj.net

Privately-held Home Medical Supply is moving from 1813 W. Sunset to the former Roark Printing building at 738 S. Glenstone. Store growth, building size and a high-traffic location are the reasons behind the move, said Mike Osborn, manager at the durable medical equipment outlet.

"The owner of the company bought the property for their business," said Mark Harrell, Realtor for Plaza Realty & Management Services Inc., who brokered the deal for HMS owner Steve Caldwell. "He owns the real estate and he owns the business."

Neither Caldwell nor Osborn would disclose a purchase price for the Glenstone property, but a Nov. 25 deed of trust lists a loan from U.S. Bank to Caldwell for $373,500 for lots 1-3 at Glenstone Court. The lease for HMS's Sunset location ends in February, Caldwell said.

Increased visibility and the potential for walk-in business prompted the move, said Caldwell.

"Most of our business comes from referrals from people that we call on," Caldwell said, adding that other sales leads derive from patient case managers, directors of nursing homes and discharge planners, Caldwell said.

"Our focus there in Springfield is primarily custom and power wheelchairs (and) rehab equipment," Caldwell said. They also provide oxygen concentrators, hospital beds and standard wheelchairs, he added, as well as "custom modifications based on the assessments of the clients."

Powered scooters and standard power wheelchairs are also part of HMS's inventory, Osborn said.

Osborn, who is a certified rehab technology supplier, works on "high-end rehab chairs," which can be specially modified per individual. These chairs are similar to the one used by actor Christopher Reeve, he said.

The move will more than double the store's space from 2,500 square feet to 6,500 square feet.

The Springfield store employs five, Osborn said. Altogether HMS employs about 50 in its three locations. Caldwell's first store opened in Poplar Bluff in 1987 and followed with a second in Cape Girardeau in 2001, Osborn said.

Moving across town

Ten-year employee Osborn hopes HMS is fully operational at its new address by Feb. 13.

Both exterior and interior improvements are slated for HMS's new address, Harrell said. Concrete replacement, overhead door additions, soffit work, signage and canopies are among the accoutrements, he added.

The inside will be completely renovated with new carpet, paint, a wall addition and a bay door for van conversions and installing wheelchair lifts, Osborn said. "That was probably the biggest issue." They also put in an asphalt parking lot in the back and fenced it in, he added. He wouldn't disclose the cost of renovations.

Springfield Builders Inc. is the general contractor with subcontracting work going to several firms, Osborn said. Triumph Electric is doing the electrical work; Four Seasons Roofing is adding roof work; Boyd Plastering & Stucco Co. is going to redo the faade; Sunset Wall Coverings is doing the painting; Wilkersons Commercial Flooring is doing the carpets and floors; Sharp Signs is adding signage, he said.

Peripheral rewards

Osborn's training permits him to outfit people who are afflicted with muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy with customized power wheelchairs. He also works with people who have spinal cord injuries from car accidents or diving mishaps, and individuals who have experienced traumatic head injuries.

A recent case was a young man, a gunshot victim who suffered spinal cord injuries, who "is now driving a power chair, operating a tilt and recline through movements by just using his head," Osborn said. A chin-to-chest movement starts the chair forward, ear-to-shoulder movements turn it left or right, and tilting the head backward puts it in reverse, he added.

Cost on an outfitted power chair such as that is about $32,000, Osborn said. The charge here is all equipment, he added. "We don't bill for any kind of labor like that, simply the equipment," he added. Chargeable items are the chair, the tilt or recline and the driving device. There also may be special cushions included, he added.

Reimbursement for HMS services comes from three sources typically, Osborn said. Medicaid usually handles all costs with no out-of-pocket charges to the client and accounts for about 50 percent of local business, he said. Medicare covers about 80 percent of expenses, while private insurance takes care of between 80 percent and 90 percent. Clientele divides pretty evenly between Medicare and private insurance coverage at about 25 percent each, he added.