Medical Equipment Company Focused On Mobility Solutions For Customers
VICTORIA – Keeping clients with mobility issues moving forward is the mission of HME.
Robert Boscacci, President of Sales & Finance, left, and Cameron Fleming, President of Operations
Doing that in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic has been an enormous challenge that HME has met with flying colours.
“The COVID 19 pandemic has affected everyone, and HME has been kept busy supplying products and services to families during this challenging time,” notes President Robert Boscacci. “During COVID 19, HME responded quickly to offer enhanced solutions for allowing families to stay at home.”
HME (HealthLinc Medical Equipment Ltd.) began operations over 30 years ago as a medical equipment company on the lower mainland, and it has become one of the largest independent dealers of mobility and home medical equipment in the province, with offices in Richmond, South Surrey and Victoria.
Rachel Mackeigan, Seating & Mobility Consultant, left, and Sales Manager Graham Plant
Boscacci has led the sales and finance operations of the company since purchasing the firm with business partner Cameron Fleming in 2012.
“The business was operating as Healthlinc Medical Equipment back then,” he recalls. “The company was small, with about eight staff, and was focused on the leasing and purchasing of medical equipment from one office in Richmond. Since then, Cameron and I have rebranded the company and put it on a new strategy focused on providing pediatric and adult medical equipment options for the home, long term care, and offering solutions to the government for medical equipment.
“The business is now at over 85 staff, and 3 locations, with 2 new locations being opened up on Vancouver Island and the lower mainland in 2021.”
HME is the largest independent stairlift dealer in Canada, offering accessibility solutions in residential homes. In 2020, HME installed over 400 stairlifts across BC, as their most successful products are stairlifts, home hospital beds, and wheelchairs and patient lifts.
Seating & Mobility Consultant Jeff Lang, and a client
“HME works closely with therapists and other practitioners to measure and assess medical equipment for clients, and then offers these solutions to the home with full setup and delivery,” Boscacci notes. “HME’s team will repair and service all equipment we sell, and our local team members service communities on Vancouver Island and the lower mainland.”
During COVID 19, HME is a provincially designated essential service provider, and Boscacci notes “we helped front line workers discharge patients into their homes using our home medical equipment. HME also continued to service our pediatric families, as we are the provincial provider of pediatric children’s loan pool. During this time we continued to provide vital pediatric equipment to families.”
HME offers a variety of options for equipment such as leasing and financing of the equipment, and has experienced 20-25 percent growth, year over year.
“HME’s strong strengths are investing in our team and utilizing technology to achieve better services for our clients,” Boscacci notes. “HME has low employee turnover of around two percent, and most of our team have been here since they were hired.”
David Manuel, Seating & Mobility Consultant, left, and Brianna Germain, Customer Service Lead & Sales Support
HME has a family-style culture, with an open and inclusive workplace, focused on diversity, and their team comes from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.
The company also invests heavily in technology.
“During COVID 19, HME upgraded our CRM system, and utilized Zoom and Microsoft teams to set up and provide digital fittings and services for families that were not able to let us into their homes,” he notes. “For long term care, HME had ‘hands-free delivery options’, where equipment was delivered to the door, and then our technicians would hold Zoom meetings with health care professionals to help them set up the equipment for families that were in long term care homes under lock down orders.”
