Handi Medical Supply has been honored with the 2012 Home Medical Equipment (HME) Excellence Award. Company officials attribute the award largely to Handi Medical’s focus on mission, vision and values.
Mike Bailey and Mary Benhardus celebrated Handi Medical’s recent award.
It is a company born out of the owner’s personal experiences and ability to see where change was needed. The company is based in St. Paul’s Midway area and serves a large national clientele. Handi Medical Supply provides home medical equipment and supplies both locally in store and nationally online at www.handimedical.com
The HME Excellence Award recognizes one company each year as the Best HME Provider, with judges evaluating company performance in categories including financial, community involvement, staffing and quality control.
The award was presented in September at the Home Medical Equipment (HME) News Business Summit in Pittsburgh. This year’s judges were consultants Miriam Lieber, Karen Moore and Christopher Sizemore. Other firms were also honored, Bluegrass Oxygen of Lexington, Ky., won the award for Best Home Respiratory Provider. Home Health Depot of Indianapolis won the award for Best Rehab Technology Provider. HME News received more than 70 applications for this year’s awards. HME News is based in Yarmouth, ME.
Handi Medical was founded in 1988 by Mary Benhardus. She owns and operates the business with her husband Shann, Mike Bailey (CEO) and many key employees. Handi Medical has always emphasized their values. Mary Benhardus’ original vision for Handi Medical began during her employment as a personal care attendant (PCA) and student. When she called home medical supply companies to order supplies or to have a wheelchair repaired, she found waiting periods to be long and the service inadequate for the needs of her clients.
Addressing the need to properly serve the customer, she borrowed money from her grandfather and started Handi Medical Supply. She defined their mission simply as “to enrich lives,” and has since witnessed the company’s growth rise above industry averages.
With more than 80 employees, Handi Medical Supply maintains a spirit of volunteerism and community involvement which played a large role in the nomination for the 2012 HME Excellence Award. Handi Medical has a long record of community service at the local and national levels.
In addition to their Joint Commission accreditation and their finalist position for the Better Business Bureau’s Integrity Award, Bailey said of the award, “It validates for me that we have selected the correct business model in serving both our internal and external customers.”
Mary and Shann Benhardus added their sentiments in response to the award. “We are both so proud to win the 2012 HME Excellence Award because it confirms to all that Handi Medical Supply is blessed with quality people who strive to enrich the lives of our customers each and every day,” the couple said in a statement. “Without the dedication to excellence from all of our team members, winning this award would not have been possible.”
In 2004 Mary Benhardus served on the first-ever CMS’s Program Advisory and Oversight Committee for competitive bidding. The committee provided advice on implementing competitive bidding related to financial standards, data collection, quality standards and proposals for interaction among manufacturers, suppliers and individuals.
At the time, she expressed concern that decisions not be made by people who don’t provide services. She also said that the concerns needed to be focused on those who receive services.
For more information on the HME Excellence Awards, including photos of the 2012 award winners, go to www.hmeexcellenceawards.com/index.php
