It's All About Change

If you're looking for a blueprint on how to operate a successful home medical equipment company, you don't have to look much further than Cranford, N.J.

That's where Arcadian Healthcare is based. A 1999 roll-up of four companies, Arcadian has taken the strengths of each and built on them, says Gayle Devin, president and CEO. The result is an HME business that is the sum of more than its parts.

It hasn't always been easy. Hard decisions needed to be made along the way, Devin says. “Our story illustrates the benefits of change, thinking outside the box, implementing sound business practices and of maintaining a primary focus on customer service,” she says.

Season of Change

Change started to come to Arcadian when Devin came on board in 2003. A registered nurse, she had a decades-long track record in the industry. She'd started out as a regional program manager specializing in enteral nutrition for the now-defunct Foster Care and swiftly rose to national director of Foster's nutritional program. When she left Foster, she started her own business in the Chicago area, specializing in respiratory and enteral services, then sold and eventually joined Arcadian.

The company was a blend of four HMEs. One was a strong respiratory company and the others had strengths in pediatrics, Devin says. Initially known as Millennium Healthcare, the company had a lot of strengths, but “lacked a strong infrastructure” to leverage them, she says.

By the time Devin joined the company, which had renamed itself Arcadian in 2002, the infrastructure — or lack of one — wasn't the only problem. “We were trying to be everything to everyone,” says Devin. “My experience tells me that sometimes that doesn't work. You can't really differentiate yourself in the marketplace.”

Devin and other company employees began to take apart and study every aspect of the business. What lines were profitable, which ones weren't? How were complaints handled? How long did it take for a patient to be served? What did referral sources think of the company?

The questions were endless, and the answers that surfaced were often surprising.

“We divested ourselves of some products and services,” Devin says. Some of those were areas in which Arcadian was seemingly strong, she says — until they looked deeper.