HALIFAX, Va.--The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers, launched in April as a grassroots advocacy and support organization, announced its initial board of directors on Wednesday.

H. Wayne Sale, RCP, president of Health First in Richmond, Va., will serve as board chairman. Others on the nine-member board include:

--Tim Good, RCP, president of Goodcare by CPCI in Logan, Ohio;
--Joan Cross, co-owner of C & C Homecare in Bradenton, Fla.;
--Bob Miller, Rph, president and CEO of New Jersey-based Bach's Home Health Care Supply, and president and pharmacist of Skylands Community Pharmacy, Hackettstown, N.J.;
--Jason Rogers, president of Care Medical, Athens, Ga., and president of the Georgia Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers;
--John Eberhart, RCP, president of Eberhart Home Health Care in Laguna Niguel, Calif.;
--Michael Flores, vice president/general manager of Huntleigh Home Medical, San Antonio;
--Tom Bradley, CEO and owner of Petersen Medical, Orem, Utah, and president of Utah Medical Equipment Dealers, that state's HME association; and
--Tom Coogan, vice president of Care Medical Equipment, Portland, Ore., and president of the Pacific Association for Medical Equipment Services.

According to a press release, NAIMES' new board will be charged with review and revision of its bylaws, refining a three-year strategic plan, developing positions on industry issues and the launch of the DMEHelp Political Action Committee next year.

Focused specifically on independent DME suppliers, the group is "on target" to reach 500 members by early 2008, the release said.

Wayne Stanfield, a DME owner who is also executive director of the Home Care Alliance of Virginia, a provider network, is the organization's president and CEO.

For more information, visit www.dmehelp.org.