Amber Simmons never planned to go into the durable medical equipment (DME) business. It was her mother’s calling—she started Accucare Medical* along with a silent partner as a single mom in 1993.
“I told my mom, ‘I’m never working for you,’” Simmons said. “I’ve been cleaning wheelchairs since I was 7 or 8.”
Simmons earned a degree in finance and landed a job in banking—but soon, she found herself helping her mom with her taxes and books, then a few more tasks, and then a few more, until she landed back at the business full time.
“I did not like the banking world,” Simmons said. “I felt like I wasn’t making a difference. I felt like I was called to do something different and more helpful.”
Simmons eventually became a certified orthotist and pedorthist and developed a specialty in diabetic shoe fitting. In 2008, Shreveport, Louisiana-based Accucare moved across town and into a 7,000-square-foot building with a 2,500-square-foot showroom.
“This was before the big retail push in DME,” Simmons said. “We were kind of on the forefront.” The move allowed Simmons to act on an idea to improve her customers’ experiences. Several of her regular shoe customers told her they had recently had mastectomies, and their only option for trying on items was a closet in another store.
“I was like—oh no, that’s a need we can fill,” she said. “So, I went back and got certified to do that—it’s really kind of the ministry part of it for me, you know, meeting those ladies. And it naturally evolved from other customers and seeing their needs and seeing what was lacking … and it just kind of took off from there.”
Today, the mastectomy boutique is her favorite part of the business. The boutique includes a private fitting area off the main showroom that is decorated with hand-painted murals. In addition to prostheses, she carries wigs, bras, compression garments, scarves and hats for patients and customers.
Simmons said the best part is building a long-term relationship with her mastectomy patients. She prefers to meet with them before their surgery to explain the fitting timeline, what the process is like and to help them get comfortable.
“That’s definitely a relationship and trust that you have to build, and I think we do that very well,” Simmons said. “Most of my mastectomy patients I’ve had, I’ve been fitting now for over 10 years, and they come back yearly for their supplies. And I know what’s going on in their life, and they know what’s going on in mine.”
When Simmons’ kids were born, her mother decided to step back from the business to spend time with her grandchildren—and to free her daughter up to take over the business. Recently, her silent partner passed away and the family planned to put the company on the market. But then, a new partner, Gary Adams, stepped up and offered to share the work, so they took on ownership together. Now, she’s not leaving DME—yet.
“It’s a long-term, long-haul business. You’re not going to just come in here and overnight set the world on fire and make a ton of money, you know what I mean?” Simmons laughed. “But, you’re just going to plug in every day. You’re going to do the best you can. You’re going to try to have the best reputation you can and treat people the way you want to be treated, and, at the end of the day, the business will grow.”
*Editor’s note: Two finalists work for similarly named companies but the two businesses are unrelated.
