Swanson Closes S&S Rehab Products + located in TRF

S&S Rehab Products +, a locally owned and operated Medical Equipment and Supply provider located in Thief River Falls, has closed its doors. Lisa Swanson, owner and operator, has spent her entire career (32 years) working in some aspect of healthcare. After college, she worked as a Long-Term Care Administrator; then transitioned into Assisted Living and Home Care services to eventually operating S&S Rehab providing medical equipment and supplies to people in their homes. That journey began on January 1st, 2005, and has come to an end on December 31st, 2020.    

S&S Rehab Products, a Medicare certified Durable Medical Equipment Supplier (DMEOPS) provided medical equipment and supplies throughout Northwest Minnesota including communities in Pennington, Marshall, Roseau, Kittson, Red Lake and Polk Counties. Everything from bathroom safety products to walking aids; to hospital beds and wheelchairs; power wheelchairs and scooters; lift chairs; diabetic shoes; post-mastectomy products; and monthly patient supplies of incontinence products; nutrition, ostomy and urological supplies. Everything except respiratory products, such as oxygen. Mostly items that allowed people to maintain their independence, in their own home for as long as possible.  

Independently owned DME providers are almost non-existent in this day. The majority of providers are hospital based or owned by a major health system. Lisa commented, “A small business such as S&S Rehab can’t compete on an equal level with major health systems, but we found our niche in providing services to the rural areas and smaller clinics and hospitals in the region by being the “mom and pop” shop who knows its customers by name and is willing to accommodate individual needs as much as possible.” Swanson said health insurance coverage and reimbursement have been the biggest challenges over the years and have driven changes to the entire healthcare system. “Over time the amount of paper work required by insurance companies to obtain approval for products has increased, but the reimbursement for those products has decreased. However, the requirements for maintaining Medicare certification have stayed constant, the same for a small independent business as a for multi-billion-dollar health system,” she added.

Now add COVID, Swanson says S&S Rehab has seen a decrease in customers due to people not going in to see their physicians, cancelled surgeries, self-isolation, etc.   Manufacturing plants have experienced closures and product availability has been an issue, as well as an increase in cost of those products once they do become available. Most items now costing more than insurance reimburses for those items.  

In regards to closing her business, Lisa shared, “I knew at the beginning of 2020 that I had a difficult decision to make as our re-accreditation process would need to begin in order to stay Medicare certified by November 2020. The Accreditation process is a $8,000-$10,000 investment and is a 6-8-month process. As the months continued and as the first wave of shutdowns occurred in March it was evident that the future of S&S Rehab, along with other small businesses, would be uncertain. Although S&S Rehab has stayed open throughout the pandemic as being deemed essential; the deeper implications of COVID began to hit the business. The uncertainty of not knowing when there will be an end to COVID or when life will get back to normal or what that new normal will look like made the final decision to close inevitable. The original plans were to be closed by October 31st, however, in order to accommodate customers and transition them to other providers, that deadline was pushed back to December 31st.”

Lisa continued on, “The last few months have been difficult saying good-byes to customers who have become more like family, many that have received products and services from S&S Rehab over the last 15 years. Also saying good-byes to Case Managers in the hospitals and county agencies in the region that seem more like friends than colleagues. Being a business owner is not for the faint at heart. It requires a huge commitment that impacts family; financially, physically and emotionally. This journey has had its share of ups and downs, but I hope in the long run we were able to make a difference in people’s lives.”  

“So, what’s next?” is the ultimate question. Lisa said retirement would be great, but probably not realistic. “For a short time, some rest and time to take care of myself, something that’s always come second to work. I’ve learned over the years that life can change in an instant. There are no guarantees and when you least expect it an opportunity will come your way,” she concluded.