ELFA Members Respond to COVID-19

ELFA Members Respond “We saw that we could be part of the solution.”

– Grady Brown, Med One Group

The idea that good things can spring from horrible situations seems painfully trite in 2020, but some equipment finance firms are proving it true nonetheless.

As the new coronavirus named COVID-19 spawned the world’s worst pandemic since an influenza virus killed millions in 1918, ELFA-member companies around the nation halted routines and began strategizing how to adapt and respond. First devising ways to keep employees and customers as safe as possible, equipment finance professionals at every level then focused on determining how their products, skills and services could best fill the urgent requests for equipment pouring in from multiple directions.

In some cases, members were positioned to start helping customers as soon as employee- protection protocols were put into place. In other cases, products and services had to be modified or—in one case, invented—to meet unprecedented needs wrought by a new disease.

No matter. Employees staggered shifts, altered work stations and lugged computer equipment home in efforts to support customers around the clock. Whether burning up phone lines or learning new applications to communicate virtually face-to-face, many companies found ways to pivot and deliver solutions to their customers and communities. Following are stories of how a few ELFA members responded to the crisis.

A Sprint from Reaction to Pro-action

It was early March when Troy Tait first noticed an uptick in calls from customers asking for equipment. “It seemed like everyone needed ventilators,” says Tait, Senior Vice President of Med One Group, a Sandy, Utah-based company financing critical and essential-use medical equipment for acute-care hospitals throughout the U.S. He adds, “Spring is usually the time when the need for leased and rental equipment slows down, but suddenly we were getting a huge volume of calls.”

“Spring is usually the time when the need for leased and rental equipment slows down, but suddenly we were getting a huge volume of calls.”

—Troy Tait, Med One Group 




As employees in every position jumped to respond, urgent calls for equipment kept coming. “And suddenly, we had a huge shortage of patient-ready infusion pumps,” says Tait, adding, “These pumps deliver fluids to patients and are life-saving equipment, so there was no time to spare. Everyone in every part of Med One Group started doing everything they could to fast-track requests and help meet the demand.”

Around the same time, Vice President of Human Resources Grady Brown was thinking about how the virus might behave and how best to protect employees. “We sell, lease and rent medical equipment. We have field offices around the country,” he says. “And now hospital and healthcare provider customers were reaching out to us for help instead of the other way around. This was a such a change for us. We began to see that we could be part of the COVID-19 solution. And as that realization spread through our hallways, it was inspirational.”

But it meant Tait and Brown had to figure out how to protect employees and customers while keeping all locations running. Says Brown, “We couldn’t afford to have the virus penetrate any of our locations and sicken employees, because we needed every one of them to be part of our response.”

The two men quickly developed a matrix of company locations and began monitoring the virus and restrictions in each area with an office. They also analyzed the risk of each employee at Med One and required all who were not equipment cleaners, warehouse/shipping or delivery drivers to work at home. All others were educated about their risk and precautions to take as information became available. “And still these men and women went out of their way to contribute,” says Brown. “They faced tremendous pressure to get a high volume of equipment out, but we couldn’t risk quality for quantity. So they did whatever it took—coming in at different times so the work went on 24-7, spacing out work stations and creating temporary ones to create distancing. It was a team effort, everyone played a part and it was incredible to witness.”

Aspects of the crisis continued to play out at Med One in early June. Tait said the number of requests from care providers was still high, but the need for ventilators and pumps had begun to taper. “But while we’re not shipping out as much, we’re not seeing the equipment come back,” he observed. “Many customers are taking a hard look at what they’ll need in the future and trying to accommodate—and so are we. We don’t care for patients directly, but when we put a lease together for a hospital, we’re participating in healthcare. Every day is an opportunity for us to step up.”

“In less than one month we’ve processed more deferments than we have in the history of our company.”

—Tom Rutherford, Crestmark Equipment Finance  

In the Right Place at the Right Time

Crestmark was prepared to respond to COVID-19 as well as any company could be. The Troy, Michigan-based division of MetaBank specializes in serving small to mid-size businesses and has been a preferred SBA (Small Business Administration) lender since 2016. “When the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offered through the SBA CARES Act came along, it was a perfect fit for us,” says Tom Rutherford, Crestmark Equipment Finance group head. “We were already in that market, so it was a quick decision for us to help out.”

After the new loan program was announced, however, things got hectic. “We knew that Treasury and the SBA were rolling out a new program at lightning speed. And to keep up with the changes while managing customer expectations, we had people working long days, 27 days straight, and emails flying at 3 a.m. to support it,” Rutherford says. “But everyone jumped in to talk with customers, process applications and do whatever was needed to get the job done.”  

All the while, Crestmark employees were newly working from home. “We’ve always been proud of our ability to help businesses and take on difficult deals and manage that risk across the products we offer, but this was a new program and a new work environment,” observes Lisa Beattie, Senior Vice President. “The team displayed a can-do attitude that was really great to see.”

In total Crestmark provided over $215 million in PPP loans for more than 670 small businesses in 38 states. More than half of loan applicants were new customers. “Crestmark made an early decision to offer the PPP to client and non-client businesses, and to have the proportion of new business come out at around 50% was a pleasant surprise,” says Rutherford. “I think most small companies have their line banks, but because those institutions were either overwhelmed with applications or perhaps had different priorities for processing, these businesses came to us. The whole process kept us extremely busy, but it was rewarding and well worth it. Our next focus will be getting all of these customers through the loan-forgiveness process.”

Inspired by Necessity

Across the state in Portage, Michigan, Stryker faced a different challenge. As COVID-19 began raging in metropolitan areas across the U.S., hospitals faced an urgent need for more beds. But those made by the medical technology company were designed to be customized, requiring time that hospitals didn’t have.

In response, leaders at Stryker’s Medical division assembled a team of some 120 employees from multiple divisions. In seven days while working mostly from home, team members designed, built a global supply chain for, and integrated into the company’s regional manufacturing process the Emergency Relief Bed. The bed is a low-cost, limited-release platform for moving and positioning patients efficiently in triage centers, emergency departments and pop-up areas of care.

Stryker’s Flex Financial business supported this effort by launching financial programs for its customers, all while working from home.  James Cress, Vice President and General Manager, says Stryker’s Flex Financial team embraced flexible work arrangements several years ago in response to employee feedback, and this allowed the entire financing business to begin working from home with 24 hours’ notice. “But we’re a relationship-based company, and stay-at-home orders and work-from-home policies pushed us to rethink how we work together,” he says. From collaboration with other Stryker business units to sales-representative education on new financing programs, remote learning platforms quickly began flowing from Flex Financial. “Every day in March and April we learned something new, faced new challenges and devised solutions through the chaos,” says Cress. “And even though I worked from behind a desk, I really felt like we were in the fight and are still making a difference.”

Since releasing the Emergency Relief Bed, Stryker has also begun production of non-sterile togas and hoods and released a new Emergency Relief Patient Cover to protect patients and care providers.

Strategic Growth and Virus Response

Pitney Bowes Inc. grappled with two issues when the virus began its sweep across the U.S. Wheeler Financial from Pitney Bowes, the subsidiary established to extend the company’s financing commitment to Main Street businesses, was less than a year old, and still ramping up. But Christopher Johnson, Senior Vice President of Pitney Bowes Inc. and President, Pitney Bowes Financial Services, was sure the new company could help small businesses cope with the pandemic while also growing strategically.

“We financed key instruments and software to help Aspirar Medical Lab extend and expand client services, which include COVID-19 testing.”

—Christopher Johnson, Pitney Bowes Financial Services  




“A key principal and strategy of ours is to grow with our base,” says Johnson. “Wheeler Financial was already focusing on North Carolina’s Research Triangle, where a number of small businesses as well as large ones play important roles in the healthcare industry. We identified an opportunity to help Aspirar Medical Lab, a small company that is a high-complexity lab, able to perform both screening tests and high-specificity tests to verify positive results. We financed key instruments and software to help Aspirar extend and expand client services, which include COVID-19 testing.”

Wheeler Financial is also working to lessen disparities in the capital available to small businesses, compared to larger ones. “When you think about the pandemic and the economic backside of it, you realize that this disparity, which is already vast, can only grow larger,” says Johnson. “We’re concerned about the cash flow of small businesses, which generally only have one source of capital. We’re spreading the message that these businesses need to seek out alternative funding sources beyond their main banks. Our ability to provide capital to these companies through Wheeler Financial encapsulates what we do. We’re here, we have innovative ways of looking at these firms, and we’ll continue to invest in them to build out what we think is a vastly underserved market.”

“Every day in March and April we learned something new, faced new challenges and devised solutions through the chaos.”

—James Cress, Stryker Flex Financial 

Behind the Scenes

As members rushed to respond, ELFA hurried to support them. From their homes in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, Association staff compiled and created resources to help companies cope with and respond to the pandemic. Between mid-April and mid-June, ELFA:

• Held 10 free webinars for more than 2,800 participants on multiple aspects of equipment financing during COVID-19. Additional webinars are scheduled for this summer.
• Developed federal advocacy information on the PPP and other SBA loan programs.
• Began posting daily updates on Congressional actions relating to the crisis.
• Created repositories of current regulatory guidance and legislative activity that might affect equipment finance companies.
• Developed a historical resources webpage to provide insights on how things might play out if history repeats itself.
• Provided a COVID-19 state reopening guide, state policy tracker and state tax filing resource.
• Published updates on the COVID-19 impact on financial reporting.
• Released new episodes of the Equipment Matters Podcast exploring life and business during COVID-19.
• Launched new online courses to help members learn from experts remotely.
• Posted member news and press releases on the association’s website, ELFA Engage app and twitter feed.
• Convened dozens of member committee and work group meetings via video conference.

Says James Cress, “We’ve been fortunate to be an ELFA member at this time. The webinars have been great, especially the economic update forecasting the new COVID-19 economy and its implications for the equipment finance industry. It has also been helpful to follow the Foundation’s Momentum Monitor and track the impact to the healthcare industry and how it compares to other equipment finance sectors. ELFA is a simple and clear source for information and data that I trust.”

Most recently, ELFA worked with the SBA and members of Congress to include lease and loan payment streams in the June bill passed by the House regulating how PPP recipients can achieve loan forgiveness. “I can’t say enough about the help ELFA always has provided, and it has been appreciated again during this critical time,” Tom Rutherford says. “We’re referencing their guidance on changing regulations to include lease and loan payments as eligible for forgiveness, and on how to account properly for the customer payments we’re deferring. This is very important, because in less than one month we’ve processed more deferments than we have in the history of our company.”

For more news on how ELFA-member companies continue to respond to COVID-19 and podcasts, papers and reports to help your company plan and act in today’s changed economy, visit www.elfaonline.org.