When Kim Haley of Fort Lauderdale awoke after her lumpectomy in 2009, she was disgusted with what she was wearing.
Hospital staff had tightly compressed her chest — where a Stage 2 breast cancer tumor had been removed — in a garment to help with healing. But the get-up was restrictive and, in her eyes, undignified for a woman who had just survived life-changing surgery.
“I said, ‘Oh my god, this is so disgusting. It’s so uncomfortable, so degrading,’” Haley recalls telling her surgeon. His response? “He said, ‘Your mission in life is to design something better.’”
By 2011, she did.
She called it the Medebra: a surgical garment created with breast cancer survivors in mind, one that helps women heal while retaining their femininity. The patented product is soft and stretchy, designed to secure dressings and provide compression and support. It features a strap that covers and protects patients’ ports where they receive treatments. Pouches at the bottom act as drain holders or, if removed, can hold breast prosthetics. There are also pockets on the inside for ice packs.
Her vision has since expanded into a collection of Medebra kits ranging from small to 4X in size. The product has also diversified to facilitate recoveries from other procedures, like heart and chest surgery, rotator cuff surgery or breast reduction or augmentation. Versions now cater to men recovering from surgery, women who breastfeed, and more. The goods are manufactured in China and Colombia and ship from warehouses in North Carolina and Fort Lauderdale.
In her first month selling Medebras, Haley made $325. Her first partnerships were with Broward Health and Cleveland Clinic. Her product is now in 68 hospitals across the country, including the Jackson Health System, Baptist Health South Florida and HCA Florida Healthcare hospitals. She's now inching toward $1 million in annual sales.
“It’s just been an incredible journey for me,” says Haley, who is now cancer-free. “My whole mission has been to make a difference in the operating room. I don’t believe that a patient should have to search out a product of need.”
Most importantly, she says, her product qualifies for reimbursement by Medicare and private insurance. The Medebra is classified as medical equipment and sells at $55-plus depending on the kit. Patients can now get 80% of that cost covered. Haley contends that her products also help hospitals save money on gauze and other clinical aids. One day, she’d like to see her product in big box stores — but only if patients can still get reimbursed.
“It’s been a lot of organic growth, which is really fun and cool,” Haley says. “Where I think I want to make the most difference now is if I could get a big drugstore to have the garments in their pharmacies to be able to help the women.”