Cape Medical Supply purchases two companies from Cape Cod Healthcare
by Glenn RittLast year, Cape Business profiled a young Cape Cod businessman in the process of taking over his parent’s company, Cape Medical Supply. As 2005 ended, Gary Sheehan successfully negotiated the acquisition of two home medical equipment businesses to solidly position his family’s firm at a time when national brands are dominating his industry.
Cape Medical Supply purchased Cape & Islands Oxygen & Supply of Hyannis and Personal Care Center of Falmouth from Cape & Islands Health Services, an affiliate of Cod Healthcare, which operates hospitals in both towns.
Earlier last year, it looked as if Cape Medical Supply would lose out to one of those national brands with businesses across the nation, Lincare. That deal fell through, however, and Sheehan was able to capitalize.
Not only does the acquisition strengthen Cape Medical Supply’s market share on the Cape, but it establishes a stronger relationship with Cape Cod Healthcare as a provider of choice, said Sheehan. “There is no legal obligation for a discharged patient to use our services, but it provides better access for us to develop that relationship.”
Cape Cod Healthcare started the medical equipment companies about seven years ago, at a time when many other hospitals were adding similar businesses, said David Reilly, CCH spokesman, but that strategy shifted back to “core services.”
“We’ve come to realize that you can’t do everything well,” Reilly said.
Cape Medical Supply is based in Sandwich, with facilities in Hyannis. In addition to its oxygen services, it provides surgical supplies, uniforms, hospital beds, walking aids and respiratory care devices to individual consumers and to facilities such as nursing homes.
Now, Cape Medical Supply is the largest locally owned medical supply business on the Cape, with its primary competition coming from Denmark’s Home Medical Equipment, based in New Bedford. The recent acquisitions could add as many as 330 more home oxygen equipment customers to Cape Medical Supply’s 160 existing accounts.
Purchase price remained private, but it apparently was significantly less than Lincare would have paid for the companies, which had been employing a dozen people. Four employees were hired by Cape Medical Supply.
Glenn Ritt Glenn Ritt is editor and co-publisher of Cape Business Publishing LLC. He is the former publisher of Cape Cod Community Newspapers and editor of The Bergen Record in New Jersey. 
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