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Employee buys Southern Oregon Medical Equipment Steve Croy is the new owner of Southern Oregon Medical Equipment in Medford. [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Friday Oct 20, 2017 at 5:24 PM Oct 20, 2017 at 5:24 PM Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness A long-time employee of Southern Oregon Medical Equipment has bought the company. Steve Croy, and his wife, Mary, acquired the Barnett Road firm from founders Greg and Kelly Deimling, who now live in Hawaii. The Deimlings, career respiratory therapists, launched the enterprise in 2005, and Croy came on board in 2006. Croy worked the seven previous years for Home Medical, which was acquired by Apria Healthcare in 2004. "I saw the ever-growing market and untapped potential," said Croy, who began thinking about pursuing ownership three or four years ago. "It's a huge opportunity and blessing, but there are also a couple of gulps that come with all the responsibility behind it." Rogue Valley Manor is right up the hill and Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center is less than a mile down the road, and beyond the hospital are more senior centers. The storefront is just off the south Medford freeway interchange, and there are plenty more customers off the north Medford exit. "We're surrounded here by retirement communities," Croy said. "It's a good location." The dynamics of the Medicare-driven industry led Southern Oregon Medical Equipment to discontinue Medicare billing some time ago. Monthly oxygen tank rental reimbursements have dropped from $200 a decade ago to $66, Croy said. National firms able to handle slim operating margins in exchange for massive volume have dominated the medical equipment industry. As a result, the company ceded respiratory equipment to the likes of Apria and Lincare years ago. Nonetheless, Southern Oregon Medical Equipment has carved out a niche in the hospice arena and still has a broad range of equipment in its Medford store. "When the recession was hitting, Southern Oregon Medical Equipment was growing," Croy said. "We were dealing with a lot of hospice contracts. It's kind of a recession-proof industry, because people are still going to be going on hospice, whether the economy is good or bad. There is still as much demand as when I first started." Southern Oregon Medical Equipment still sells and rents everything rehabbing patients need, as well, from hospital beds and wheelchairs to lift chairs and scooters. "Some of those things are available at Walgreens or a Black Oak Pharmacy, but typically those places don't rent equipment," said Croy, adding. "We're always having to keep an eye on our competitors and pay attention to what's going on around us." Customers may look for products on their own, but sometimes whole families arrive in the store to weigh in on decisions, he said. "Our staff is knowledgeable enough about products to answer questions you wouldn't necessarily get at other locations." — Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.