As reflected in Care Medical Supply’s name, those who run this family owned business, want to provide care and compassion to those who need their services.

“We have a heart for the older community, and we’re just trying to help out wherever we can,” said Rusty Misenheimer, CFO of the new business, located at 1620 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Salisbury.

Care Medical Supply officially opened Aug. 1 and joins two other businesses, Care Transport Group and Senior Solutions, that the family owns and operates providing help to others in the community.

Wanting to be a blessing to others and make a difference in their lives is their goal, said Alan Misenheimer, chairman of the board.

“The older I get, it’s more about the difference you can make in people’s lives,” he said. “And that’s the heart of all the companies that we have. We want to make a difference in their lives.”

Care Medical Supply is a durable medical equipment company providing medical equipment or supplies, which can range from hospital beds, scooters and manual or power chairs to diabetic shoes, canes, walkers, blood pressure cuffs and oxygen meters.

“Just a little bit of everything,” said Mary Stevenson, who serves as the business’ customer service manager.

The store carries each of these items; however, she said, if there is a need for something they do not carry, “we can always special order it.”

Stevenson shared that she has been in this business for approximately 10 years. The company she had worked at previously had gone out of business and she “went the old school way” in searching for a new job. 

Going onto the internet’s yellow pages, she searched DME companies and came across Rusty’s number, and she called it. She received a call back and after several interviews with him and Alan, she was given a job offer.

“Mary was a Godsend. We are so thankful for her,” said Alan. “She speeded up the process tremendously.”

Stevenson noted that she has one part-time lady, Julie Shull, who is the human resources manager, and Alan noted that both of the ladies have been a blessing. 

“Mary and Julie have done a fantastic job of just getting us to this point,” added Rusty.

He credits the entire team, which also includes Angie Misenheimer, who is president of the company, for helping seniors “navigate this process” and providing customer service.

“We want folks to be able to have a one-stop shop and that starts with customer service,” Rusty said, adding that they want to make “it easier for seniors and folks that are needing help.” 

People are at the heart of what they do, he said and it’s their mission to leave people in a better position than when they found them.

Stevenson shared that same sentiment as she said she enjoys helping people, and told of those coming in who are unsure of what they need to get for their parents or children or themselves, and she will help point them in the right direction.

She stressed the importance of showing compassion and patience to the one in need and understanding where they are at in life even if you might not have experienced it yet, because you will be there one day yourself. Therefore, knowing she will want help one day, she said, “I am going to go above and beyond to help that person.”

As of now, Stevenson said they had contracted with multiple Medicaid programs and are in the process of contracts with others.

Plus she said they are accredited through The Compliance Team, which is necessary to get the Medicare number.

Some of the responsibilities of The Compliance Team includes making sure all policies and signage are in place, that patient charts are done correctly, that they are HIPPA compliant and they are following Medicare guidelines.

This accreditation, noted Rusty, “is a prerequisite for you to be able to obtain a Medicare, what they call a PTAN number, so you are able to bill Medicare.” 

Care Medical Supply is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and those needing assistance can either drop by and visit the showroom or call 704-645-7251 and Stevens said she could walk them through the process, which usually entails visiting a doctor to get a specific piece of equipment. This, she said, has to be “discussed and a medical necessity has to be documented through the doctor.”

She will then contact the doctor’s office and request the prescription and clinical notes and after several forms have been taken care of and depending on if “it’s not an item that needs prior approval through the insurance company, as long as I’ve got all my documentation and it’s medically necessary, we call the patient, we can either deliver it or they can pick it up.”

When asked what made them decide to open this particular type of business, Alan said, just like the transportation business they run, part of it was because of the needs of their clients.

They needed items to help them in their daily life, he said, but didn’t know the process of how to get those things.

Plus, he said, he has had to deal with mobility issues himself as he is a diabetic and so “those things are near and dear to my heart” and that is what led them to offer this help to those struggling with these same things. 

“We want to make it more simplistic for our seniors and this was a way of doing” that, Alan said.

Years ago, Stevenson herself had faced health challenges and was going through radiation treatment and was out of work when her mother-in-law encouraged her to come in and try this DME work.

At that time, she said she knew nothing about DME but since then has learned both from teaching herself and learning from others. 

Because both she and Alan have faced health challenges, they can understand what those who come in are dealing with and can empathize and show compassion.

In sharing some of the details of insurance and Medicare, Stevenson noted that “with Medicare, most of all their medical supplies are a 13-month capped rental.” However, if someone is on private insurance or Medicaid, they do it as a purchase. Other smaller items such as catheters or seat cushions are purchased, but bigger items like hospital beds and others are rented.

One point that she did make about Medicaid is that it is the only insurance that will pay for an incontinence supply, which includes pull-ups, diapers, underpads, gloves and more.

She will set everything up and handle the paperwork for the patient, and with the first delivery, personally hand deliver the items to them and then for future needs take care of having the supplies sent to their home.

“A lot of people do not know that if they have Medicaid, Medicaid pays for that. And I’ve found a lot of Medicaid patients that are still paying for them out of pocket,” she said.

Because doctors are not on the DME side and are not aware of this information themselves, she likes to visit offices and do in-services with the nurses or with DSS “and let them know what I do and what I can offer,” she said.

In addition, Stevenson said she is planning to have an expo at the end of September where she will visit Oak Park Retirement and take some of the equipment they have and help them to learn about both the insurance process and learn about the equipment.

Providing instruction on the use of equipment is something they must do for all, she said.

While they haven’t had a grand opening as of yet because they wanted to make sure all of their insurance coverage was in place and things were ready, they do plan on having one at a later date.

They are also working on building a website and Facebook page so people can learn more about them.

When speaking about employees, Stevenson said that when the business starts to grow, she would add more people. And both she and Alan mentioned some down the road projections of a larger facility being something they hope for to accompany that growth.

However, Alan added, with growth, having that same personal, at home feel to what they do and the compassion at the heart of it all has been and will continue to be a constant.