It’s been one week since we hosted our first radio show, the HME Voice, hosted by Medtrade Group Show Director Kevin Gaffney and me, Mike Sperduti.

Invacare Chairman Mal Mixon

This first show featured Invacare Chairman Mal Mixon, News Anchor Liz Beaulieu from HME News and special guest Ryan Ball from The VGM Group.  There were great discussions about the hurdles our providers are experiencing currently and predictions for the future of the HME industry.  What Mr. Mixon was able to deliver perfectly was perspective.

If you listened in on the show, I think you’ll agree that Mal Mixon has clearly seen it all.  He has been to every single Medtrade, he has experienced success and failure in HME and he has been a major player in the industry for over three decades, transforming a small wheelchair manufacturer to a leader in the HME industry.

At the very beginning of our interview with Mal, we had asked him about his story, where he came from and what he did before joining the HME industry.  His views on life reveal why he is able to remain confident about the future of HME.  Mal reflected on what he learned from serving in Vietnam.  He said, “People today get upset about the damnedest things.  I can tell you there are things to worry about and things not to worry about.”

In my experiences, I have met a lot of people who thrive on drama, who believe everything is a big deal.  I’m sure you have several people in mind right now that fit this description.  They get worked up over the line at the grocery store or if a customer calls at the end of the day and this causes them to stay after hours.  They live for making things bigger than they really are.  Competitive Bidding is doing this for many in our industry, these people are freaking out.  Mal Mixon put everything in perspective.

At the end of the day, if you have your health, your house, and your family, then it’s all good.  If you put things in perspective, then obviously things are never as bad as they seem.  Unless something is fatal, there is hope.  If we try harder to live life by the same philosophy that Mal has, then you we will have a happier life.

Considering all of his experiences, Mr. Mixon is not worked up and still firmly believes in the fundamentals of the industry.  He believes in the fact that population is aging, they want to stay at home and it is cheaper for us to take care of them at home.  We can take comfort in the fact that it Mr. Mixon still believes we have a bright future.  It might be a rocky road today, but there will be sunshine after this storm.

I highly recommend going to this link for the HME Voice and taking the time to listen to the entire show.  What I took away from this first show experience is the fact that the future is bright for the HME industry, for Mal Mixon and for the HME Voice.

Where does HME Voice go from here?  Expect to see us around at Medtrade.  We will be interviewing the HME thought leaders and manufacturers on breakthrough technology and the future of our industry.  We will be airing those interviews sometime in October.  If you have any good ideas or want to see the radio station, stop by.  We’ll have the station set up in the exhibit hall at booth 2828.