Sitting across the table from Star Medical Specialties Founder and CEO, Greg Jackson, was like connecting with an old friend. Everyone who knows Mr. Jackson personally, knows he has never met a stranger. Ever. For this interview, I met Mr. Jackson at one of his favorite breakfast joints in Addison, Texas. After he joked with the front staff, he spotted me, making sure to say hello to folks along the way. Donned in a baseball cap, he sat down, and proceeded to share with me his heart for people, his vision for the company, and his proudest moment since Star Medical’s inception in 1994.

Building the business from the ground up was no small task. But with experience in the field, and a love for seeing people heal, Mr. Jackson hit the ground running, earning a well-respected reputation in the medical community for taking good care of patients. “Our delivery in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is a white glove delivery, Mr. Jackson said. “We go inside the house, stack formula, visit with the caregiver, and follow-up to ensure they are well cared for. ” And as the number of happy clients grew, so did his sales force. “I try to pass that compassion on to my people, he said.” “Not everyone has a sales force with such compassion.”

I asked Mr. Jackson what sets Star Medical apart from other DME companies. He shared with me that, at the beginning, he made a conscious decision to provide only nutritional products. Mr. Jackson believes that if a company has a specialty, they are better able to serve their customers. By just focusing on life-sustaining products, instead of trying to ‘do it all’, Star Medical has become the medical community go-to for their expertise in nutritional products.

This single-minded focus made all the difference for conjoined Egyptian twins, Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim. In 2003, after a risky, 34-hour separation surgery in Dallas, Texas, Children’s Medical Center turned to Star Medical for the delicate nutritional needs of the two-year-old boys. Star Medical provided a year’s worth of feeding pump sets for the boys at no charge. And learning the extent of the boys’ needs, Star Medical partnered with Abbott Nutrition, who donated specialty formula for the boys. “I consider it an honor that Children’s Medical Center trusted us to provide for the boys’ life-sustaining needs,” Mr. Jackson reflected tenderly.

Mr. Jackson said that he and his staff always remember that behind every order number is a patient that needs them to deliver their best every time. “I imprint on all of our employees that these are not simply orders,” he said. “Behind every order is the face of a patient.” Even in a tight economy, Mr. Jackson refuses to cut corners on what is most important. “We don’t compromise service,” he said. “Service is our top priority.”