About Yankee Medical
Yankee Medical continues to evolve from it's beginning more
than fifty years ago in the orthotics and prosthetics business.
Yankee Medical has been family-owned and run
for over 60 years. Starting with Orthopedic and
Prosthetic services, the business
grew to meet its patients' needs from ambulatory devices and
wheelchairs, through pain
management equipment and bathroom safety devices.
Yankee Medical
provides
medical products, services and education with professionalism
and quality as our focus. In this manner, we hope to help people
live fuller lives within their physical limitations.
Yankee Medical is dedicated to ensuring its customers'
independence.
For a company to flourish for more than 60
years, all employees must not only listen carefully to the
changing need of their customers, but also act on what they
hear. Many home health care professionals or businesses that follow this
strategy end up modifying their services to such an extent that
they become different, yet vastly improved, companies.
 Such
is the case of Yankee Medical, Inc., a husband-and-wife owned
orthotic, prosthetic, and HME business based in
Burlington, Vt. Since it was founded, Yankee Medical (formerly
called Roy's Orthopedic Appliances) had enjoyed considerable
success as a supplier of orthotic and prosthetics. Over time,
however, it became apparent that O & P customers were also seeking
equipment or other home health care products that the company
did not carry. "It made a lot of sense for us to add HME to our
business since we had been in the business of helping people
with mobility and home health issues for so many years,"
explains MaryAnn Ficociello, vice president and co-owner.
Specializing In Service
Yankee Medical has now offered HME for over 30 years, and
this part of the business continues to grow faster than the O &
P segment, which currently represents 60% of sales. John
Ficociello, a certified prosthetist orthotist and Yankee Medical
president and co-owner, adds that introducing HME was a natural
step since his company was already specializing in providing
customized prostheses and braces. "It became clear that since we
already had the technicians available to provide customized
O & P, it would be an appropriate adjunct to offer customized
HME such as wheelchairs." John said.
Having an established state-of-the-art lab for custom fitting
and repair work has given Yankee Medical a distinct competitive
advantage in the HME market. "Very few HME businesses have a lab
with high skilled technicians and practitioners who are capable
of taking a scientific approach and applying it to an
individual need and diagnosis," Mary Ann says. "This is
important for our HME clients, since we have on-site staff who
can repair or build things from scratch without having to send
things out-of-state." This approach to problem-solving has
earned the company a reputation among referring medical
professionals as a knowledgeable resource.
Yankee Medical, with 50 employees and six
locations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York, has also
benefited from the Ficociellos' strong leadership and experience
in the home health care field. John has been with the company
for 35 years. Mary Ann, who just completed her tenth year,
actually has been with the business all her life, since her
parents had previously owned it. "You learn a lot about a
particular business by watching a generation ahead of you
[manage it]," she says.
One of the most important things Mary Ann
learned is that a commitment to customer service is vital for a
home health company's success. She also points out that the O & P
and HME markets require similar service strategies. "In both,
you're dealing with many of the same patients, year after year
and relationships are very important," she notes. "HME and O & P
are available just about everywhere, but what can set you apart
from your competitors is the "TLC"-attention to detail,
follow-through, and credibility you establish with your
customers."
Scott Wells, sales manager, concurs the
service philosophy of the company is designed to motivate
employees to constantly "go the extra mile for the customer.
Wells cites one case last winter in which a 200lb stroke patient
needed assistance getting in and out of bed. "We drove
over 40 miles in a snow storm, bringing equipment that would
offer him some mobility"
Yankee Medical has six
locations in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. The staff is
professionally trained and the business is accredited by several
healthcare certifiers such as the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the American
0rthotic and Prosthetic Association.
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