William (Bill) Sprague Jr. Founder of Custom Hospital Products, Inc.
Custom Hospital Product’s history was built on serving the needs of its customers.
William (Bill) Sprague Jr. founded Custom Hospital Products in 1974. As a long-time “detail man” and manufacturer’s rep, Bill called on hospitals and health care clinics throughout the Northwest. In the course of his career, he frequently received requests from hospitals for unusual products or custom packaging. Bill learned that medical practitioners often had specific preferences in regards to their surgeries or patient care. These custom requests eventually led to the launch of Custom Hospital Products. The company product line began with bias cut muslin bandages, hand-rolled and packaged in bags of six. As demand grew for this product, Bill found himself researching and developing other custom surgical dressings. By listening to customers and creating products to meet their specific needs, Bill eventually had a selection of products that could fill a small catalog. Although he began the business in Portland, Oregon, Custom Hospital Products soon became a national supplier for these hard-to-find custom surgical dressing and wound care products.
When Bill Sprague retired, Leslee Schonert, the long-time operations and manufacturing manager, purchased the company. To this day, Custom Hospital Products continues to listen to the needs of its customers and develop surgical dressings and custom packaging to meet their needs. This business model requires a very personalized approach and true, old-fashion customer service. It’s the model that Bill established and the legacy that Leslee continues to pursue.
