AlternaCare turns 30 – with its roots showing

GREAT BEND, Kan. – When Apollo Homecare of Kansas bought AlternaCare Home Medical Equipment, John Boswell inherited a company with owners who cared about where it went next.

“I had a relationship with them, and we did a few projects over the years, and it continued our relationship,” said Boswell, who founded Apollo in Topeka, Kan., 10 years ago and later expanded into Wichita. “Then, when they wanted to retire, the general manager reached out to me and asked me if I’d be interested. They just didn’t want to go to a national company, and it worked out. I knew them and their business model.”

AlternaCare is now celebrating 30 years in business the way its original owners wanted: independently.

For Boswell, the fit was familiar but not identical. AlternaCare’s business model closely mirrored Apollo’s, with a strong focus on sleep and respiratory, but it also brought additional lines, including ostomy, mastectomy and hospice.

Boswell says AlternaCare has also given him a broader view of employee retention. At Apollo, Boswell says he focused on coaching employees while giving them room to grow.

“I always tell them, I don’t know if this will be your last job, but while you’re here, give me your best, and if you decide you want to do something different, then I’ll support you.”

AlternaCare, by contrast, came with employees whose average tenure is about 15 years.

“With AlternaCare, now, it’s a legacy,” said Boswell. “And so I see the importance of legacies.”

A year into the transition and Boswell says he’s still drinking from the fire hose. Much of that comes from the administrative weight of independent ownership, including regulatory requirements and accreditation, but the bigger adjustment has been learning where to step in and where to let AlternaCare’s longtime staff keep doing what’s been working for three decades.

“They keep it going,” said Boswell. “I’m just a cog in the wheel.”