Tag: Bariatric

ATLANTA - GF Health Products has significantly increased the weight capacity of its bariatric product line with its acquisition of Gendron in June, says President and CEO Ken Spett.Gendron has a number of products with 1,000-pound weight capacities, including beds, patient lifts, transport stretchers and patient commodes.“It bumps us up, in many cases, to double the weight limit that we've had in the past,” he said.Gendron, which has been in the “mobile patient management business”...

BALLOONING BRACKETBusting the scale: The bariatrics category is expanding along with America's waistlines as the percentage of the population deemed obese continues to grow. The CDC estimates that 36% of Americans are now obese and that the percentage will grow to 42% by 2030.SPANNING THE SPECTRUMBecoming bariatric: Manufacturers are adding heavy-duty versions of products in a widening scope of products, including mobility equipment (wheelchairs and scooters), support surfaces (beds and...

America's obesity epidemic was front and center during healthcare reform talks. It's one of the biggest drivers of healthcare costs, but until now, doctors didn't get paid to treat it, says Dr. Kevin Huffman, a bariatric specialist who recently became a consultant to Gendron, Inc. He spoke with HME News recently about how healthcare reform-and HME providers-will help these patients. HME News: Just how many obese Americans are there? Dr. Kevin Huffman: Between 1980 and 2000 we saw a doubling of...

I chatted with Dr. Kevin Huffman yesterday about how health care reform will attempt to address our obesity epidemic by making sure docs get paid for treating the disease. As that  happens, the docs and the patients will have conversations about the patient's needs, including bariatric durable medical equipment (you knew I was going to say that, didn't you?). Huffman recently became a consultant to Gendron, which offers a line of bariatric DME. Bariatric, said Huffman, will become a more common...

RADNOR, Pa. - The market for regular and bariatric wound care products just got a little more interesting thanks to a trio of private equity investors with deep pockets. The three companies--Aurora Capital Group, Hollywood Capital and Moelis Capital Partners--joined forces recently to merge RecoverCare and MedaStat, creating a wound care distributor with revenues approaching $200 million, said Hollywood Capital's Chairman Mark Bidner, who will serve as the new company's CEO. The combined company...