Meditech founder Howie Bartz may have his hands full running his durable medical equipment business, as well as designing Bartz Bracing Systems, a unique line of orthopedic and spinal braces, but his true passion continues to be directly helping those in need.
After graduating summa cum laude from Daemen College in Amherst, NY, Bartz began work as a Physical Therapist. Within five years, he owned and operated two outpatient physical therapy clinics specializing in orthopedic and spinal rehabilitation.
Howie Bartz later sold his physical therapy clinics and became an Account Manager with RS Medical, a medical device company, for seven years. This experience helped to develop his business skills and exposed him to medical device design, as well as introduced him to a large network of physicians.
In 2007, Bartz founded Meditech and began designing Bartz Bracing Systems (BBS), which has grown to include bracing products for the lumbar and cervical spine, knee, ankle, and wrist along with medical devices such as neuromuscular stimulators and traction units. He has continued to grow the Meditech brand by adding ancillary services such as compound pharmaceuticals, urine site collection and analysis, genetic testing, physical therapy, and medical billing. Meditech is now a national leader in durable medical equipment and serves the largest pain management practices in the nation.
But Howie Bartz began work as a physical therapist, and he thoroughly enjoyed his hands-on work helping and getting to know his patients. Despite leaving this line of work, he continues to give back to those in need, although now on his own time.
During and since the COVID-19 pandemic, Howie Bartz has generously donated his time to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Howie Bartz’s contribution has been so significant that he has been recognized with a badge of Outstanding Service.
Between April 2020 and February 2021, Howie Bartz donated over 300 hours of his time to volunteering with the food bank, specializing in home delivery of groceries to seniors. He completed 407 total deliveries when his community needed him the most, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Making himself available whenever he was needed, Howie Bartz continuously volunteered to deliver groceries in challenging neighborhoods. He is a valued and dependable volunteer for the food bank.
In addition to his work delivering groceries, Howie Bartz contributed a dynamic interview used by the food bank in their volunteer recruitment efforts. During Thanksgiving 2020, Howie Bartz also raised enough funds for 4,000 donated meals.
“It’s been our pleasure to volunteer for such an amazing organization,” Howie Bartz says of his and his wife’s efforts. “It feels great knowing we are making a difference.”
The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin. Every week, over 50,000 households receive food assistance from the food bank. Nearly 60% of what they distribute is fresh fruit and vegetables. 10,000 households get home-delivered groceries, and 1.3 million meals are distributed every week.
Services provided by the food bank include advocacy for policy reform; helping those eligible enroll in CalFresh benefits; college food pantries; partnering with a network of 350 community organizations; food and nutrition education; home-delivered groceries; mobile food pantry to isolated, low-income families; and distribution of food at 240 pantries.
You can find more information about the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank by visiting https://www.sfmfoodbank.org.
As for Howie Bartz, he continues to seek out ways to improve the lives of those around him. As he says, “Every day is another opportunity to make a difference!”