Monday, October 14, 2013

HALIFAX, Va. (Oct. 8, 2013)—Wayne E. Stanfield, vice president of provider relations for the American Association for Homecare and former president and CEO of the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES),  formally announced his retirement from his position at AAHomecare and the national stage effective November 15, 2013. Stanfield will continue to be a part of the DME industry on a local level as a co-owner of a northern Virginia DME supplier and executive director of the Home Care Alliance of Virginia (HCAV), an 11-state provider network.
On announcing his departure at the Stand Up for Homecare event at Medtrade 2013 in Orlando, Stanfield stated he would use his remaining weeks with AAHomecare to assist with the leadership transition of the association to the new President and CEO, Tom Ryan.
Stanfield joined the DME industry in 1987 after a 20-year Air Force career as an air traffic controller and a 4-year stint in sales and marketing for Coca-Cola. His Air Force career included a tour to Vietnam in 1969-70 where he earned the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal. In 1987 he joined Commonwealth Home Health Care, a Danville, Va. DME provider, as director of operations, and after four years, Stanfield became a DME consultant focused on accounts receivable management, operations and accreditation. While with Commonwealth, in 1989 he led them to become the first independent DME in Virginia accredited by JCAHO.
In 1996, Stanfield took the leadership of HCAV and still serves in this role today. HCAV is the oldest and last remaining provider-owned DME network in the country, serving patients in 11 states.
During his years in the DME industry, he served as executive director of the Virginia Association of DME Companies and on the Board of the North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services, as well as on the Board of the Virginia Association for Home Care. In 1997 he became co-owner and CEO of two unit-dose respiratory pharmacies in Virginia and North Carolina, both closing after Medicare moved to average sale price plus 6 percent reimbursement.
In 1999, with a partner, Stanfield acquired a full service DME from the Prince William Health System in northern Virginia. He is still a partner in this provider in Manassas, Va., located in the Washington DME bid area. In 2001, with a partner, he started a new DME company, Carolina Med-Plus in Concord, N.C. where he remained a partner until 2011.
Over the 26-year DME career, Stanfield has been involved in the industry in numerous areas at state and national levels. As a member of the AAHomecare predecessor NAIMES, Stanfield participated in several Project Blueprint programs to help guide to direction and focus of the DME industry. He was also one of the DME industry representatives at the industry led, Consensus Conference on DME, held in Washington in 1993. This public/private conference laid a foundation for recommended changes to the Medicare DME benefit. 
In 2007, Stanfield was asked by the founders to lead the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES). NAIMES was created as a direct response to a perceived need for an association that focused on the smaller and independent supplier community.
In 2009, Stanfield was also asked to handle the administrative affairs of the Committee to Save Independent HME Suppliers (CSIHME). This organization was created by a passionate group of oxygen providers in direct response to the direction certain factions were taking the Medicare home oxygen benefit. After stopping this legislation, CSIHME turned its focus on stopping competitive bidding with the help of its Washington consultant, John Blount, until dissolving in 2012.
“I am extremely proud to have been a part of this honorable industry,” said Stanfield. I have met some of the finest people in the world over my years in DME. The DME industry is made up of hard-working, caring men and women, who have one overriding goal at heart—to provide quality care to those who need it.”
“As I step off the national stage and turn 70 in a few months, I am confident that I am leaving the DME industry and all my friends in good hands. With the unity created by the recent merger of NAIMES and AMEPA, and strong support from suppliers, AAHomecare will be a force for the industry. For the first time in more than 13 years, our national trade association is led by a peer and has DME experience on staff. I wish Tom Ryan and his team much success in the future.”