How did Innovative Medical Systems (IMS) begin and how did we become who we are today?
Our story begins in 1988, when three men came together to form IMS; Dan DeJong, Jack VandenBroek, and Ray Cebulski. This trio had worked together previously at another medical supply company and eventually made the decision to start their own company, with a slightly different focus. Their complimentary skills made for a perfect team; Dan focused on the sales aspect of the business, Jack on the service portion, and Ray on product management and marketing. Twenty-nine years later these three are still at the helm of IMS. And they aren’t the only constant that has remained at IMS.
Taking care of customers and employees is as much our focus today as it was in the beginning. IMS has consistently offered great products that increase hospital efficiency and contain operating costs. Pair that with exceptional customer support and an environment has been created through which customers enjoy doing business.
"The dual offering of both sales and service means that we don’t just sell a product and then walk away until the next sale; instead we stay close to the customer to help with the usage of the product and make sure it is operating properly. We are always here to answer questions," said Dan DeJong.
Pictured below, from left to right, Dan DeJong, Ray Cebulski, and Jack VandenBroek, in the beginning.
Though the solutions have changed, our commitment to making life better for our customers has remained the same. This commitment has increased our footprint from covering just the state of Michigan to a larger geographic territory of over eleven Midwestern states. On the human resources side, IMS strives continually to treat our employees with respect and create an atmosphere in which they thrive. The longevity of our staff is a testament to that environment.
Back in the beginning of IMS, a few of the products sold were electrodes for heart monitoring, sensors for oxygen saturation, blood pressure cuffs, intrauterine pressure catheters, scalp electrodes and other physiological sensors. These body sensors were connected to a variety of types of monitors in order to review and analyze the data and provide real time information to clinicians. While this may be considered mainstream technology today, some of these products were cutting edge technology twenty-nine years ago. In 1988 already, Ray predicted health records would be stored electronically, so solutions were selected that allowed data transfer into a monitor for easier analysis and storage. These solutions were the precursor to the Electronic Medical Records (EMR).
Even though IMS no longer markets the physiological sensors today, those products led the way to our current solution offerings like infant and patient security systems, Real Time Locate Systems (RTLS), battery management software and.others. When EMR became a standard in the healthcare space, IMS had already built a solid rapport with customers and advised them on the purchase of their Workstation on Wheels (WOWs) and other solutions to mount the computer hardware required for their EMR initiative. While WOWs were originally marketed solely for mobility in tracking patient admissions and records, they are now capable of so much more. When WOWS are paired with a preventative maintenance contract and battery management software, customers gain valuable insight into:
- Promoting good battery charging practice; ensuring carts are charged and available at all times
- Preservation of battery and inverter life with reduce replacement costs
- Reduces IT troubleshooting time, allowing higher staff productivity
- Intel for buy-redeploy decisions which saves money on new asset purchases
- Green technology; saving money while reducing power
Customers know us and trust us. And we consistently offer solutions that increase their efficiency.
The heart sensor technology IMS initially marketed in some cases used radio frequency technology to communicate to the base monitors. That same radio frequency technology is still used in the infant and patient security systems we market today. When we made the decision to market the Hugs® Infant Security System, we already had base knowledge of how this technology worked. In these last twenty-nine years, marketing, installing, training and supporting of infant and patient security systems has had more impact on our business in terms of growth, supplying new technology, and service offerings than any other product we have marketed. It was a catalyst in expanding our geographical footprint to eleven states currently. Today we have over 350 patient security systems in operation, including the very first system installed back in 1999! This exponential growth is a result of the knowledge we have gained over the years and proving solutions and support that customers appreciate.
With our continued growth in expertise in radio frequency technology, infrastructure and software, IMS has taken on a new solution, Real Time Locate Systems (RTLS). This technology takes IMS to the next level of providing solutions for our customers to gain operating efficiencies. Whether you’re at the enterprise or point solution level, IMS has the knowledge, insight, and strategies to offer an integrated RTLS solution. Our solutions provide for tracking and management of physical assets, monitoring of critical environmental parameters, electronic communication of staff location to nurse call systems and alarm systems for their safety, as well as patient location to manage patient flow through the facility.
After twenty-nine years, through exponential staff growth and countless product changes, our core values have stayed the same. Thanks to our three founders, taking care of customers and employees remains at the heart of IMS. And we are more thrilled than ever to see what our future holds!
