A durable medical equipment and supply company with a long history in the Tri-Cities has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But Washington Medical Supplies Inc., known as Densow’s Medical Supplies, remains open for business and in fact has tripled its revenue in recent years, its co-owner said.

“I’m hopeful for the future. I have an amazing team and we work as hard as we can every single day to ensure the success of the business,” co-owner Lisa Lewis said. “I’m looking forward to, in the next year, this being in the rear view. It will be a little blip as we move forward.”

Lewis said she and her business partner filed for bankruptcy as costs piled up dealing with billing errors made by the business’ former owners as well as ongoing litigation with those former owners.

The Covid-19 pandemic also played a role, she said.

Lewis and Paul Protzman bought Densow’s Medical Supplies at 1019 Wright Ave. in Richland in 2018.

In making the purchase, “we brought some money to the table for the initial closing,” she said.

In a move typical with those types of deals, “we did a holdback because we knew there were going to be some invoices that should have been paid by them that we’d have to pay on their behalf, and things like that. So then, at the one-year mark, we would work out what the difference is,” she said.

But then they discovered billing errors, including patients without prescriptions on file, Lewis said. They hired auditors and had to pay back “tens of thousands” of dollars to Medicare, she said.

In 2019, former owners Jonathan and Joelle Reynolds sued Lewis and Protzman in Benton County Superior Court, saying they still were owed $90,160 for the business, plus a 5% late fee and interest. They eventually were awarded more than $488,000 including those costs and attorney fees.

Lewis and Protzman filed their own suit in 2022, alleging breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and fraud. That case was dismissed; Lewis said it was because of legal errors, and they plan to re-file. In that case, the Reynoldses were awarded about $39,000 in attorney fees and interest.

David B. Trujillo, the attorney for the Reynoldses handling the Superior Court cases, said he didn’t have authority to discuss the matter beyond pointing to the court record. The Reynoldses denied the claims in Lewis and Protzman’s lawsuit. Metiner G. Kimel, an attorney representing the Reynoldses’ interests in the bankruptcy proceedings, declined to comment.

Lewis and Protzman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past June in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Chapter 11 is often called “reorganization bankruptcy” and generally involves debtors making a plan to keep the business going and pay back creditors. 

Densow’s has been in Richland since 1949. It provides durable medical equipment and supplies ranging from custom manual wheelchairs to lifting and transfer devices, mobility scooters, compression garments, bathroom safety items, wheelchair ramps and wound care, ostomy, incontinence and urological supplies. The Medicare-accredited facility also repairs medical equipment.

Lewis said she loves that Densow’s has a long history in the Tri-Cities, and for her and Protzman and their staff of six employees, the work is meaningful. “It’s about changing people’s lives,” she said.