Bayonet makes a stab at rehab

PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Sister companies Bayonet Point Oxygen & Medical and Hernando Medical Supply have started a new subsidiary, Bayonet Point Mobility, claiming they're tired of hearing their clients complain of wheelchairs that don't fit and rehab providers who don't care. "We've always helped our clients with rehab where we could, but now they don't have to go outside our company at all," said Carol Acevedo, chief operating officer of the companies, and a registered nurse. "Now we do rehab, and we'll do it right the first time around." To make room for Bayonet Point Mobility, both Bayonet Point Oxygen and Hernando have expanded their showrooms in Hudson, Fla., and Spring Hill, Fla., respectively. One fourth of Bayonet Point Oxygen's 2,400-square-foot showroom and one fourth of Hernando's 1,200-square-foot showroom are now dedicated to wheelchairs, cushions, scooters, lift chairs and ramps. (The showrooms have been spruced up, too, and now feature cloud wallpaper, fountains and wind chimes. "People buy more when they're calm," Acevedo said.) Repairs and custom mobility will be done from the companies' corporate headquarters in Port Richey, Fla. One of the technicians used to run the physical therapy department in a hospital, she said; another is a mechanic by trade. "We're very serious about this," Acevedo said. "We're not just out there to make a quick buck." Employees are "very serious" about the success of Bayonet Point Mobility, as well as Bayonet Point Oxygen and Hernando, because they own and operate it. Bayonet Point Oxygen made headlines two years ago, when its owner, Dr. Mitchell Weiner, sold the company to his 32 employees. "None of us is in it to put in eight hours," Acevedo said. "We have to really take care of customers, because their satisfaction is our future." HME