MED hangs O2 repair shingle

LUBBOCK, Texas--Nearly 20 years after opening a certified repair center (CRC) for rehab, The MED Group is starting up a CRC for respiratory. The new center provides technical training and education, service management guidance and a forum for sharing technical information. Originally, enthusiasm for the new CRC was a byproduct of a brand new day for home oxygen where consumers were to take ownership of the equipment after 36 months. Now that the government has scuttled those plans, MED is moving forward with the center as a way to help providers shave costs. “In the good old days of bigger profits, we could take care of things without watching them,” said Dick Fuller, MED's director of technical services. “That has changed quite a bit.” Currently, MED's rehab CRC has won a following among 126 of the group's members. Fuller expects at least half as many members to sign on for the respiratory CRC. The CRC offers three levels of certification-bronze, silver and gold-that each include prescribed coursework and, at the gold level, a Tech Training Seminar (TTS) on-site at MED's facilities, as well as supplementary hands-on training at a manufacturer's seminar or two CRC Product Update e-conferences per year. Otherwise, the achievement levels are long on coursework. The bronze level includes completion of 14 courses, including such topics as Oxygen Transport and Tracking. At the Silver level, the coursework digs into the basics of compressors, concentrators and soldering. At the gold level's TTS, respiratory techs focus in-depth to provide a broad-based, hands-on appreciation of respiratory equipment.