Building on the Past

When Shawn Parker sits back and takes a long, hard look at the home medical equipment business, he doesn't see problems. He sees possibilities.

Parker, president of Melbourne, Fla.-based Parker Healthcare Products, and his partner and brother Tim, head of marketing, are continually ramping up their company's services.

That zeal for trying new and innovative ideas is paying off. Parker Healthcare, at present a single branch operation, has plans for several additional offices in central Florida; it's in the process of becoming accredited; and, according to Shawn, it will be a player in every aspect of competitive bidding when that program is launched next year.

“We are doing great business,” he says, with a ring of pride in his voice. He and his brother are doing their dad proud.

What's in a Name

Their dad is Harvey Parker, a legendary HME provider in Florida. In 1971, Harvey, whose background was as a pharmaceutical rep, opened the first HME company in central Florida. He was among the founders of FAMED, the Florida Association for Medical Equipment Dealers, and wrote the group's code of ethics. And he was the one who got Shawn and Tim involved in the HME world.

“I had four sons (Shawn, Tim, Todd and Terry), and after school, they came and helped me in the business,” says Harvey. “I never thought any of them would end up in the business. I sent all of them to college and thought they would go into different disciplines, but they all sort of migrated back into the industry except for Terry, who became a pilot for Delta Airlines.”

Shawn well remembers working for his dad as a teenager, delivering the bulky “H” tank oxygen cylinders and even the first concentrators (“about as big as a big TV in those days,” recalls Harvey). That led to his becoming a registered respiratory therapist and, after his dad sold the company to a hospital, he signed on with Linde Home Health Care, now Lincare. Then in 1989, Shawn and his former wife Denise started their own HME.

“We just took off,” he says. “By 1998, we had four offices throughout central Florida and almost 50 employees.” Those employees also included Shawn's mom Robbie, a registered nurse and certified mastectomy fitter, and his three brothers. And in a fanciful turnaround, Shawn even hired his dad to handle the company's Orlando office.

Eventually, Shawn sold that company to Lincare. “Between the education I got working for my father and the management education I got from Lincare, it's made me a better person in this business,” he says.