RALEIGH, NC – Keeping North Carolina-based Active Healthcare (AHC) alive and well for the past 24 years has been no easy task. Steven Feierstein and his wife, Lisa, a registered nurse, have managed to succeed with the regional business thanks largely to their willingness to change.
Selling Provent, a sleep apnea treatment alternative to CPAP and oral appliances, is one example of their eagerness to carry new products. “We are always looking for new products and this one caught our eye,” says Steven Feierstein. “We thougth this was something we could take nationally using the Internet, and we built a Web site around it.”
The continuing rise of sleep apnea awareness in America ultimately led the Feiersteins to open four sleep laboratories to complement their six AHC sites. Through it all, they have not lost site of the overall plight of the industry, opting to be members of AAHomecare for many years.
“We feel very strongly that AAHomecare is the voice of our industry,” says Feierstein. “They represent us to CMS and to the governmental agencies. It’s extremely important that we have a single voice to represent our interests.”
While Feierstein says the competitive bidding program has thus far had a “marginal effect” on his business, he knows the tentacles will inevitably spread. “Competitive bidding represents open season for all the other payors to slash reimbursement to our industry,” he laments. “Clearly our industry has done a poor job in demonstrating the service component of what we do. We do not just offer a commodity.”
Steven and Lisa have attended many Medtrades throughout the years, and they see it as the ideal venue to find new products and keep up with the latest industry education. “We go so that we can stay current on all the latest products and trends occurring in the industry,” enthuses Feierstein. “This year we had a scheduling conflict, but we just received the educational DVD.”
Running a business is more than a full-time job, but Steven and Lisa enjoy skiing, biking, hiking, and white water rafting when they can find the time. The photo above is from a recent family ski trip. From left to right: Steven, Lisa, and their sons Aaron and Josh.