Just like a racecar needs a finely tuned engine to achieve success, the driving force behind a publication is its editorial content. Some car engines purr like a kitten, while others don’t fire on all cylinders, and the result is an engine that sputters along. The same can be said of magazines and their editorial content. While some magazines publish timely, thought-provoking, and journalistically sound articles, other magazines treat editorial content as if it is just something to fill the space between the advertisements. Fortunately for Home Health Care Dealer/Provider, our editorial content resembles a well-tuned engine inside an Indy 500 car, and the driver behind the editorial content is Lena Lindahl, our Mario Andretti.

Since joining Dealer/ Provider just over 2 years ago as senior editor, Lena has done a superb job of delivering to our readers the best editorial coverage in the home health care industry. Lena not only works hard, she works smart. The result is that the articles, departments, and columns in Dealer/Provider hit the mark when it comes to providing our 14,000 plus readers with information, news, and ideas that truly benefit anyone involved in delivering HME supplies and services. Not content to just rehash the same old issues year after year, Lena continually pushes her authors to deliver articles that speak to the issues at hand, with the idea of offering solutions to the challenges that face HME providers of all shapes and sizes.

Lena constantly interacts with her Editorial Advisory Board and other leaders in the home health care community in order to stay on top of those issues that strike at the heart of being a successful HME provider. Unlike some other industries that just move along like a slow-moving river, the home health care industry is vibrant and constantly changing. Whether we are addressing competitive bidding, CMNs, Medicare reform, state licensure, or advances in technology, Dealer/Provider always strives to keep its readers one step ahead. No one understands this better than Lena. Whether it is over the phone, via email, or in person at trade shows and conferences, she is always seeking advice and input from successful home health care providers and consultants, and then translates this valuable information into the pages of Dealer/Provider.

With this issue of Dealer/Provider, I’m proud to announce that Lena has been promoted to Editor-in-Chief. While her primary day-to-day activities will not change, this promotion is our way of acknowledging Lena’s leadership role within the home health care industry, and her unique ability to guide, shape, and direct the editorial content of Dealer/Provider. With Lena at the wheel, I’m confident that editorially Dealer/Provider will always be the first to cross the finish line.