Meet Tommy Thurman of Freedom Medical Services (aka FreedoMed) in Boca Raton, FL

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Thurman.

Tommy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and lived there until 2011 when I completed my MBA from Georgetown University. My wife, Stacy, is originally from the South Florida area and we had talked about moving our family down here for a while if the opportunity ever presented itself. At the time I was working as a Program Manager for a large defense contractor in Washington, DC but was spending a lot of my time working remote or on the road. Not being bound to the local office and having just completed my second masters I saw this as good of an opportunity as any to pickup the family and take my talents to South Beach (as Lebron would say). Being able to keep the same job made the transition to South Florida much easier, but after spending five years in same position and a lot of time on the road away from the family I begin to realize that any further climbs up the corporate ladder would be difficult and would require additional time on the road and away from the family then I was comfortable giving. One of the main reason I decided to go back to school to get my MBA was to give me the confidence and the tools to one day successfully run my own business, and in 2016 I decided that I had had enough of the corporate world and started looking at starting my own business.

With the help of my father-in-law who’s a Primary Care Physician in Miami, and my wife who owns a small Doctor’s Office in Miami, I ultimately decided to look for opportunities to purchase a small business in the medical space where I could use their contacts and expertise in the space to help grow the business. After looking around for a while I ran across Freedom Medical Services (aka FreedoMed), a small Durable Medical Equipment (DME) supplier in Boca Raton. Freedom Medical Services was owned and operated by the same couple since it was started in 1999 and had the exact small business, family like culture I was looking for. During the interview process one of the things that resonated with me was the then owner’s commitment to the staff and their insistence that anyone who purchased the company would guarantee their employment and wouldn’t just come in and bring in all new staff. I appreciated their commitment to their employees and their employees commitment to the company and knew right away that I had found a diamond in the rough.

I just celebrated my one year anniversary as owner and CEO of Freedom Medical Services and while still learning some of the intricacies of working in the medical space, and trying to navigate the rapidly changing and highly regulated world of Medicare and Private Insurances we were able to double our revenue this year and have set similar growth targets in 2018. Despite massive cutbacks in Medicare reimbursements and the implementation of Competitive Bidding, a program that sets prices and limits which DME Suppliers can service patients based on their location, I’m still optimistic about the future of the industry. Regardless of regulations the demographics aren’t changing… everyday 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 and they are living longer and more active lifestyles then previous generations. It’s estimated that by 2030 18% of the population in the US will be 65 or older, and as such will benefit from some form of DME to aid in their daily living. It’s these numbers and not the Medicare cuts or increasing industry regulations that have me optimistic about the future of the industry and Freedom Medical Services.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been some minor hiccups along the way but all-in-all the journey has been fairly smooth. However, based on industry experts and some of the congressional changes being discussed in Washington there could be rough seas ahead for the industry as a whole. It’s my goal to make sure that we are positioned out in front of these changes and are prepared to weather any obstacles that come our way.

Please tell us about Freedom Medical Services (aka FreedoMed).
Freedom Medical Services (aka FreedoMed) is a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) supplier based in Boca Raton. We provide all sorts of DME and general aids to daily living for the senior population, but we specialize in Orthotic Braces, as well as Catheters and other Urological supplies.

One of the things that sets us apart from other DMEs is that we have an actively practicing Physician serving as our Medical Director. Dr. Vincent Chin who is a well-known and beloved family doctor in Miami for over 30 years, and also happens to be my father-in-law, has helped establish a patient first culture at FreedoMed that is often lacking in other DMEs. We believe that by putting the patient first and taking care of their needs that numbers will take care of themselves. With that said the MBA in me still keeps a close eye on the bottom line but it’s this combination of skillsets and backgrounds that makes for interesting dinner conversations and keeps FreedoMed on the path of success both from a business and cultural standpoint.

Pricing:

All of our products are covered by Medicare and most private Insurances.

Contact Info:

• Address: 551 NW 77th St.
  Suite 204
  Boca Raton, FL 33487
• Website: https://www.freedommedicalservices.com/
• Phone: (888) 722-7556
• Email: info@freedomed.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreedomMedicalServices/