Medical Service Company: A pioneer in the making

CLEVELAND--Medical Service Company in November made its third buy in the last 18 months: Marietta, Ohio-based Pioneer Home Medical.

With one location and six employees, Pioneer is a small company, but its location on the Ohio River allows Medical Service Company to further penetrate Ohio and expand into several northern West Virginia counties.

In late 2007, Medical Service Company acquired the homecare business of Mansfield, Ohio-based Hursh Drug. Before that, the company bought the homecare business of Canton, Ohio-based DiaMed.

With Pioneer, Medical Service Company now has five locations that service nearly one-third of Ohio's counties, company officials say.

Therapist Paul Green, who runs Pioneer, will stay on board, boosting Medical Service Company's clinical presence. In turn, as part of a larger company, Green and his six employees will benefit from increased back office support, allowing them to better focus on patient care.

“Respiratory is the area where we believe we can bring the most clinical support to the patient and differentiate our services,” said Joel Marx, CEO of Medical Service Company.

Medical Service Company plans to explore future acquisitions, Marx said. Meanwhile, it plans to add more staff to the Pioneer branch and its Cleveland headquarters.

Pioneer will operate as Pioneer Home Medical, a division of Medical Service Company.