Lynn Medical Celebrates 50 Years

What began in 1966 in Southeastern Michigan as a business focusing on cardiology and imaging has grown into a full-service dealer, servicing healthcare providers throughout the United States with an inside sales force. Even so, providing cardiology and diagnostic imaging equipment remain at the core of Lynn Medical’s mission.

“We have always been and will continue to be a company that specializes in providing cost-effective solutions to cardiology and imaging markets,” says Chris Fagnani, co-owner of Lynn Medical.

Biomedical technician
Lynn Medical was founded by Louis F. Fagnani, who began as a biomedical technician for Cambridge Instruments in Ossining, N.Y., in the late 1950s. Cambridge Instruments was a pioneer in ECG and diagnostic cardiology technologies, and sold the first ECG into the marketplace in the early 1920s. Louis Fagnani was transferred to Michigan to service Cambridge’s customers in the Midwest.

“Louis was an entrepreneur at heart, and seeing the opportunity to expand Cambridge’s Midwest business, he asked for the opportunity to sell the products also,” says Chris Fagnani. “Cambridge set him up as a 1099 employee, and Louis’s empire-building personality took over.”

Louis began networking with pioneers in diagnostic cardiology and imaging technologies at a time when technological advancements were booming. Lynn Medical embraced the new technology, focusing on cardiology, and became credible guides for cardiologists who were looking for a reliable source to purchase their equipment. Lynn Medical’s reputation for demonstrating industry knowledge and providing competitive, reliable service grew quickly among cardiologists, and the company soon became one of their most trusted dealers.

Louis Fagnani’s son, Brian Fagnani, started with Lynn Medical in 1989, first as an outside sales representative, and later spent time in marketing, private label, and inside and outside sales management before taking over as president and eventually owner in 2001.

A full line

Over the years, Lynn Medical expanded its product offerings, beginning with the equipment’s respective disposable components, including electrodes, chart paper, cables and lead wires. In 2000 the company joined NDC, giving it the ability to offer a full line of medical/surgical products.

“From the late 1980s through 2002, the company introduced and manufactured a new electrode technology, pioneering a carbon sensor electrode into the United States,” Brian Fagnani says. “In 1990, Lynn Medical introduced its cardiologist product focus – the Accu Private Label brand – and the line continues to hold a strong presence in hospital cardiology departments, imaging centers, diagnostic testing centers and cardiology practices across the country. The AccuSensor, AccuWrite and AccuGel product lines offer high-quality, domestically made stress and ECG electrodes, ECG chart paper, aquasonic gel and medical grade DVDs and CDs at a very affordable price.”

Follow the patient
“The industry changes over the past 50 years have been significant in terms of product advancements, payer challenges and changing customer models,” says Chris Fagnani. “However, there has always been – and we believe will continue to be – a need for a distributor to offer specialty-specific consultative advice on the best solution for a particular medical facility’s needs.

“As the site of care has shifted from the traditional hospital and private practice setting, our customers have become more diverse, to include urgent care, home health care and community health care clinics, to name a few,” she says. Our message and product setting has not changed. We are just taking our message and services to where the patient is getting the care.”

“Technology continues to be the key to patient satisfaction and patient outcomes,” she continues. “This focus was not new to us. Patients have come to demand efficient office flow, accurate test results the first time, and timely communication of test results. We spend a lot of time working with our customers to help them understand how newer technology and their investment will yield an ROI for them and will assist them in refining office efficiencies, which in turn will improve the patient outcome and experience.”

Company sales continue to climb, and over the past 15 years, Lynn Medical has broadened its product offering to 70 manufacturers and over 1,500 product SKUs. Inside sales representatives sell both technology and disposables nationwide from Lynn Medical’s Southeastern Michigan headquarters.

“Many people ask us why we stay solely focused in the cardiology marketplace, and in their eyes, limit ourselves,” says Chris Fagnani. “Cardiology is an exciting and important niche in the medical industry. We find we have thrived on being a specialist, even in the years that the marketplace was at its toughest.

“My father-in-law [i.e., Louis Fagnani] always said, ‘I never worked a day in my life because I love what I do and never considered it work.’ I think my husband, Brian, and I feel the same way.”

So, apparently, do the people who work at Lynn Medical.

Tenured
“Over the past 10 years we have had four sales representatives retire with over 20 years at Lynn,” she says. “Our current sales team tenure is 9.5 years, with our most tenured sales representative at 25 years. Our sales manager, Bob Attard, has been with the company for 32 years and Customer Service Manager Patricia Sunquest retired Jan. 1, 2016, after 40 years of service.

“As the age of our population continues to shift to a higher percentage in the 50+ category, we know cardiology will continue to be a specialty that is in need of the services we offer,” says Brian Fagnani. “Technology continues to advance in ultrasound, ECG testing and other diagnostic technologies. We believe there will continue to be a need for a distributor that is poised to have in-depth conversations with clinicians – not about cost per case, but about clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and office efficiencies.”

He hopes that Lynn Medical will be the one to have that conversation with them.