Derek Damstra

President CareLinc Medical Equipment & Supply

Last Reviewed: September 27, 2026

Executive Summary

Derek Damstra is President of CareLinc Medical Equipment & Supply, a family-owned provider of home medical equipment and supplies headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mike Damstra founded the company in 1997 with one delivery van and three employees. It now reports more than 45 locations across Michigan, Ohio and a Southern Region, more than 800 employees and hundreds of delivery vehicles, supplying CPAP equipment, mobility equipment, hospice and long-term care, and sleep therapy. The public record of his own career is thin. What it does show is a CareLinc willing to act as the first customer for new billing technology.

Career Highlights

• President of CareLinc Medical Equipment & Supply, as identified in an October 2025 industry press release.
• CareLinc was an early design partner and the first customer of Ashvin AI, a financial operating system for durable medical equipment providers that launched in October 2025.
• Served six years on the board of Saint Thomas the Apostle School in Grand Rapids, finishing as Secretary after terms as member at large and vice chair.

Professional Journey

Damstra works in the family business. CareLinc was founded in 1997 by Mike Damstra, whom the company calls its owner and founder, “with a vision of providing the highest level of service and care imaginable”. It began with one delivery van and three employees and marked 25 years in business in 2022. It grew across Michigan, then into Ohio and a Southern Region, and describes itself as a premier provider of durable medical equipment, supplies and services.

As President, Damstra has been the public face of CareLinc’s move to automate the revenue side of the business. When Ashvin AI came out of stealth in October 2025, it named CareLinc as an early design partner and its first customer. Damstra said that after Ashvin was introduced into CareLinc’s PAP workflow, “our denial rates have dropped dramatically, our staff is more efficient, and our patients receive their notification to schedule the next day.” Reimbursement denials are a persistent cost for home medical equipment suppliers, and he said the tool had also exposed inefficiencies in existing processes that CareLinc had begun to address.

When he became President, and what roles he held at CareLinc before that, are not set out in any source reviewed.

Outside the company he served six years on the board of Saint Thomas the Apostle School in Grand Rapids. He joined, he said, “to be more involved with my kids’ school,” and served as member at large, vice chair and finally secretary. He is a mountain biker and snowboarder.

Education

No education record was found in any first-party or dated source.