Home Team Med - A new and cost effective way for high schools to purchase sports medicine supplies

by Jackie Keim, Director of Marketing and PR

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Ask athletic directors to describe their biggest challenge and they will probably tell you it is trying to manage an ever-shrinking budget. That is a consistent theme for ADs across the country: They have less and less money to work with. There are certain expenses that cannot be eliminated, such as equipment, travel and medical supplies. As athletic trainers will tell you, medical supplies are the tools of their trade. And like everything else, the prices keep increasing. There have been little, if any, opportunities to trim the costs of medical supplies for high school student athletes -- until now.

Medline, the nation’s leading privately held manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies and services, has partnered with Home Team Marketing, the nation’s leading high school marketing company. Together they have formed Home Team Med, which can offer high schools significant savings on top tier medical supplies via manufacturer direct pricing and distribution.

Gone is the middle man that makes a profit on every medical item sold. Schools can now purchase their supplies at an online portal, direct from the manufacturer, resulting in a significant savings for the schools. 

Launched in February 2013, Home Team Med can offer schools a significant savings on medical supplies. For example, a pair of crutches can be purchased at a savings of over 20% compared to the national average for distributors; a bottle of 325mg Acetaminophen tablets can be bought at a savings of more than 80%. Athletic tape, probably the largest purchase a school makes, can now be purchased at a 15-20% discount. Most importantly, the products are of the highest quality.

Home Team Med is able to offer the highest quality products to high schools because Medline is privately held, giving them tremendous flexibility in pricing. Additionally, the company is proactive with offering new and cutting edge products trainers need. Medline currently provides supplies to thousands of the nation’s best hospitals and surgery centers.  

Medical supplies can be purchased online via a user-friendly website that features immediate order history, precise accounting and on-demand purchasing. 

“We receive significant cost savings by working with Home Team Med, and the turnaround time is great.  It has actually streamlined how we order our supplies” according to Rory Fitzpatrick, Athletic Director, St Ignatius High School. “In fact, we have found new supplies that we previously didn’t have access to,” Fitzpatrick added. 

At the core of Home Team Marketing’s business is the belief that high schools need help financially. Over the years, Home Team Marketing has worked with hundreds of corporations in creating partnerships to benefit high schools. In fact, since the company opened its doors 12 years ago, $20 million has been delivered back to high schools. “We are always looking for new ways to help out schools, to find new revenue streams for them, or cost savings opportunities” said Regan Fitzpatrick, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder of Home Team Marketing. “In our conversations with our partner schools over the past 12 years, the common sentiment was the hardships with the budget cuts. We really feel like our partnership with Medline will go a long way in helping schools reduce costs,” he continued.  

Cost savings from Home Team Med are available to any school interested in participating. The athletic trainer, athletic director, or both, simply need to go to the website www.hometeammed.com and register their school. Schools can then browse the website to review the wide range of medical supplies available. 

Home Team Med offers Customer Service both online and via a toll free phone number. Customer service support is provided through Medline’s experienced medical supply professionals.

For more information, please contact Regan Fitzpatrick at rfitzpatrick@hometeammarketing.com.  

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