Editor’s note: Libbie (Way) Lockard was one of the first people I met upon entering the durable medical equipment industry 24 years ago. My lasting memories of Libbie are her warm, ever-present smile that said she was so glad to see you, and her generosity of spirit.
At Medtrade, which took place in early March in Phoenix, Sandra Canally, RN, founder and CEO of The Compliance Team Inc., talked with me about Libbie, and asked to share her memories of their professional collaborations and personal friendship.
Here’s what Sandy said, in her own words, about Libbie’s lasting mark on the industry and the people she enriched along the way. — Laurie Watanabe
Libbie Lockard
I first met Libbie Lockard in Waterloo, Iowa, in 2003 at VGM’s Heartland membership conference. The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) was taking form in Congress, and I had been invited to speak on accreditation. Libbie was there leading the curriculum development for Van Miller’s fledgling VGM University while also helping him get Heartland off the ground.
While Libbie showed me around Waterloo, I quickly realized that few of her industry peers could match her deep understanding of HME/DMEPOS [home and durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies] with its myriads of products and business models. Her grasp of the industry and positive, upbeat nature won me over right then and there.
It was Mal Mixon, the legendary founder of Invacare Corp., who years earlier first introduced Libbie to the world of HME/DMEPOS. Mal personally recruited her for a marketing position after reading a Cleveland Magazine write-up that listed Libbie as one of the area’s most interesting people. Mal wasn’t misled.
After joining Invacare, Libbie steadily advanced to become a marketing sales manager and ultimately the director of training and tradeshows. She even met and married the love of her life there: Design Engineer Walt Lockard. Years later, Van Miller came calling, asking Libbie for help with the start-up of Heartland and VGM University.
Libbie loved what she was doing for Van and his group, but she wasn’t happy about leaving Walt and their lovely home in Hudson near Cleveland for long periods of time. Given that revelation, I took the opening to offer her the opportunity to work for The Compliance Team (TCT).
Libbie joined TCT not long after the MMA became law and brought mandatory accreditation to the HME/ DMEPOS world. She loved challenges, and we had a big one for her.
First introduced in 1998, our operations-driven Exemplary Provider accreditation programs for HME/DMEPOS were still controversial in 2004. As required by the MMA, TCT had to apply to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval to become a federally authorized DMEPOS accreditation organization (AO).
In the five years since our programs were first recognized by managed care starting in 1999, we had yet to meet directly with anyone at CMS. Using her uncanny powers of persuasion, Libbie in short order got us a meeting at CMS headquarters in Baltimore. Thanks in large part to her efforts, our meeting was a great success.
Although Libbie had no history in evaluating a provider’s quality prior to coming to TCT, the product knowledge she mastered at Invacare, and provider familiarity she gathered from her time at VGM, put her at the top of my list to assume the role of lead accreditation advisor. Libbie was a very good teacher and an even better listener. Always in the moment, she possessed the ability to adapt and customize material to fit any audience, traits shared by all great communicators.
In all, Libbie spent 11 years — 2004-2015 — helping us build the company. At first, she excelled as our marketing manager and ambassador to the wider world of DMEPOS by giving talks at regional meetings and Medtrade. At the same time, she mastered the finer points of our accreditation process and validation site visits. Afterwards, her teaching skills kicked in and she was superb at training up new hires and preparing them for the field. In short, Libbie was TCT’s shining star during those critically important years.
Sadly, diabetes had severely diminished Libbie’s eyesight and affected her heart. At age 59, a near-fatal heart attack and triple bypass surgery forced her into an early retirement. Walt cared for Libbie over the last 13 years. He was at her side when Libbie died at home in North Olmstead at age 72.
When I think of Libbie, I salute her irrepressible spirit and optimism for a better world. But most importantly, I am a better person for just having known and befriended such a singularly remarkable person as her.
In Libbie’s memory, please consider donating to the American Diabetes Association. — Sandra Canally
