FROM THE START, the members of the Gano family have made community service a priority at their Port Angeles, Wash., home medical equipment business. In fact, even when they first launched the company 16 years ago, they managed to set aside $500 to give back to the community in some way.

It was such a small amount, they laugh at it now, says Carol Gano, owner of E.R. Medical. But although they weren't sure how they would use the money, she recalls, they knew they wanted to put people first in their business.

Gano calls her family's approach to business "managing with our hearts." It puts the potential clients first-regardless of their ability to pay. To some it might sound like a crazy way to run a company, but to the Ganos, who are bent on helping others while they themselves make a living, it is the only way they can make it work.

The charity efforts, usually carried out without fanfare, are no longer so confined by budget constraints. "There are a lot of people out there who need help," Gano says, "so we decided we can't just be looking at the end dollar."

The family donates used equipment to local hospices and the American Cancer Society. It has also started a program to loan used equipment to seniors and often sets up $10-a-month equipment payment plans that lets proud, but needy, clients of all ages feel as though they are helping to pay their own way. Currently, one of the company's nine employees is charged with refurbishing used equipment, such as wheelchairs. For just $30 or $40, a wheelchair can be reupholstered-"and someone always seems to come around who needs it," says Gano

"If you've been in this business very long, you know that everybody has horrible stories to tell," she continues. "We're not looking for a pat on the back; we just want to help patients receive what they need."

What Gano would like is for more of her fellow HME providers to consider devoting a small part of their business resources to helping others. She is sure many of them already do, but the industry's scars of yesteryear all too often obscure their deeds. "Being a dealer today, it's sad," she says. "We have a bad reputation because some people ripped off Medicare umpteen years ago."

But a lot of little efforts from providers can make a difference that will span the globe. E.R. Medical, for one, has posted its community-minded business philosophy on its Web site, www.ermedical.com, in the hopes of helping people outside its immediate reach and of spreading the word to other HME providers.

Trying to work in the virtual world can have its comic moments, says Gano. Once, a woman who discovered the family business via the Internet repeatedly refused to accept a free wheelchair because she couldn't believe she was not going to be billed for it. Eventually, she was convinced, Gano recalls, but having to insist on giving away product was a strange experience.

"This approach isn't going to make anybody rich," she says, perhaps understating the obvious. "I could have had the best-looking house in town." But instead, she and her husband, Gary, prefer to inhabit-and help-a global village. HC

Has good thinking in customer relations paid off for your business? HomeCare Magazine would like to hear about it. Contact us by phone at 800/543-4116, ext. 263; fax: 310/317-9644; or e-mail: marie@miramar.com