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Complex rehab giants turn to new leaders

Complex rehab giants turn to new leaders

FRANKLIN, Tenn., and ROCKY HILL, Conn. - The race is on: Complex rehab giants National Seating & Mobility (NSM) and Numotion have each tapped outside talent to take the reins as both companies look to continue growth.

Mike Swinford has joined Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Numotion as CEO, while Bill Mixon has joined Franklin, Tenn.-based NSM as president, a newly created position.

“We're getting to be a pretty large company, as companies go in this industry, and we're continuing to grow,” said Mike Ballard, founder and CEO of NSM. “We needed more bandwidth at the top, quite simply.”

NSM's Mixon: 'I'm comfortable with complex'

Mixon, most recently president of Universal Hospital Services, has 24 years of experience in the healthcare and professional service industries. Previously, he managed the North American service and installation businesses for Philips Medical Services, and held leadership roles at Baxter and American Hospital Supply Co.

“I'm comfortable in relatively complex service environments, where it's important you have high levels of quality, high levels of cycle time and the right approach to customers on a daily basis,” said Mixon. “I've run service businesses in other large healthcare companies and I'm excited about bringing some of those skills to NSM.”

That experience with larger organizations, more than a direct knowledge of complex rehab, is what matters, said Ballard.

“We were very careful in our search to find somebody who has the intellectual capacity to understand there are many generic sides to our business where you can use conventional business techniques,” he said. “To be successful, he really needs to only appreciate what our RTSs go through and do on a daily basis.”

So far, Mixon's new role has taken him across the country to various company branches.

“I've been very impressed by the culture of this business,” he said. “This is a business that cares about the patients and delivers services in a professional way every day.”

Numotion's Swinford: 'We have a unique opportunity to change this industry for the better'

Swinford spent 22 years with GE, most recently as president and CEO of GE Healthcare Global Services. He sees an opportunity to help Numotion grow further by providing local, personalized service, while leveraging national scale, infrastructure and size, resulting in faster, more flexible and more responsive service.

“This has been a fragmented market with a lot of small players, and Numotion has really been a market leader in a relatively immature market,” he said.

Swinford says his experience working with a number of payment methodologies and systems worldwide will benefit him in his new role.

“Right now, everyone needs to do more with less and get better outcomes,” he said. “As we work with payers and providers, getting creative with models and solving problems, we have a unique opportunity to change this industry for the better.”

Another high priority for Swinford: continuing Numotion's outreach efforts.

“A big part of my responsibility as the leader of Numotion is really to advocate on behalf of our customers,” he said.

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