Lake Forest, Calif.
Apria Healthcare has purchased Topeka, Kan.-based Knoll Patient Supply, owned by former AAHomecare Chairman Steve Knoll.
“They've been asking permission to give us an offer for 10 years,” said Knoll, who owned the oxygen and respiratory HME with his wife Sally. “This year our board decided to see how serious their offer would be.”
The terms of the deal, which closed at the end of January, were not disclosed. Knoll said he sold the business he founded 24 years ago because of the “overall environment,” including Medicare cuts and additional unfavorable legislation.
Despite these issues, Knoll said the HME has been doing well, recently opening a branch in Kansas City. “We've been growing in the 14 and 15 percent range during the last several years and outperforming that this fiscal year.”
Although most employees at Knoll Patient Supply were offered jobs with Apria, according to Knoll, he and his wife will no longer be involved with the company.
