Boone Lockard has been in the home medical equipment (HME) and pharmacy world since he was a child; his mother managed a string of independent pharmacies in Northern Illinois. At 18, Lockard was hired at Lehan Drugs.
He worked his way through the company, earning his respiratory therapist license and helping build their respiratory program.
“It wasn’t instant gratification,” Lockard said. “We were ordering and setting up five CPAP devices a month. When I left, we were ordering hundreds of devices on a monthly basis.”
After a three-year stint as an account manager for Philips Respironics, Lockard landed at VGM & Associates in 2022, where he oversees the respiratory and sleep services programs. In February of this year, he was promoted to vice president of clinical services, a role that requires him to supervise and collaborate with the VGM Sleep Services team to find clinical and operational solutions for durable medical equipment providers.
His nominator applauded his work at the buyer’s group, saying that he always keeps a positive attitude while offering up helpful information to members and others working in the industry.
He said his prior experience with Lehan Drugs helps him connect with providers who are developing their own respiratory and sleep businesses.
“The VGM Respiratory role allows me to work with our members, who are HME providers in the in the U.S. market, and help them either operate more efficiently, identify new product lines that can help support their business and patients or help with billing and reimbursement; essentially helping them grow their business to be successful,” Lockard said.
Since 2022, the VGM Sleep Services program has been providing virtual setups and follow-ups to help patients remain compliant with therapy.
“The growth that we’ve seen in this program and the amount of patients that we’re able to touch on a monthly basis is rewarding,” Lockard said. “I haven’t been in the clinical setting for a few years now, and this really brings me back to providing positive outcomes to patients and the industry.”
One of the biggest challenges today for HME providers, Lockard said, is recruiting valuable clinical staff, such as respiratory therapists.
“They are being guided into the acute care space,” he said. “We’re having to fight for those respiratory therapists in our space and be competitive. It’s challenging, especially for some independent providers.”
Staffing challenges aside, Lockard said that HME “has a very bright future.”
“Some of our analysts here at VGM are projecting that within the next 10 years, each of our HME providers will have to handle about two times the amount of patients that they’re managing today.”
He credits his success in the profession to a group of “work moms” at Lehan Drugs.
“I was a young kid back then. I wasn’t trouble, per se, but just going through college and everything that college brings; they kept me on track, they held me accountable,” Lockard said. “That’s what really guided me in this path of homecare.”
