Why is Home Medical Equipment important to me?

Because it changed my life and took me on a journey that continues today.

I started working in the home medical equipment business on August 12, 1996, at Walnut Medical Services. Twenty-eight years later I am still here, and little did I know how much this industry would impact not only my professional life, but my personal and family as well.

I was 23 years old back in 1996 when I got hired and was trying to find my way in life. I applied at Walnut for the position of oxygen tank filler. Definitely not the most glamorous position you could start at but it was a start and also an important position. Many people do not realize oxygen is a drug that is regulated by the FDA. We cannot set a patient up on oxygen or pick it up without a written order from a doctor. Anytime the FDA is involved with a product, the process has to be done correctly.

I held that position for a few months and got moved into a Delivery Tech position. I loved it. You get to be on the road, going into patients’ homes and providing them with equipment that can be the difference between having to go to a nursing home or hospital for extended periods of time or being able to go or stay in their own home. There is a comfort at home that cannot be replaced, especially when you are sick or dealing with a health crisis. Delivering oxygen to patients and seeing how they can go from getting out of the hospital not sure of where life is going to go for them now, to seeing them every week with more portable tanks to go out on the town and not let their health issues stop them from living!

After 7 years of being a Delivery Tech, I got promoted to Delivery Supervisor in 2003. That was a new challenge, but one that I knew I could handle because I knew all the challenges of being a Delivery Tech and now had the ability to change and improve processes that would not only benefit my delivery staff, Walnut as a company but most importantly our patients.

Personally, family health issues entered my life in 2010 when my younger brother was dealing with health issues that ultimately claimed his life in 2010 at the age of 35. He needed home oxygen to help him breathe during his battle. My Grandmother lived to be 97 years old, and the last few years of her life were spent in a hospital bed. The easy part was setting up the bed, the hard part was picking it up after she passed. My Father dealt with diabetes and heart issues and ended losing both his legs, having heart surgery, and needing the full range of home medical equipment we could provide — hospital bed, oxygen, wheelchair, power wheelchair, transfer board and he even had a reacher to pick up his remote control. My Mother also required a bed, low air loss mattress and oxygen before she passed. Having so many people in my family that needed all of this equipment gives me a personal perspective of how important this equipment is for anyone who uses it.

I rely on that personal experience, and I use it along with my professional experience to do my very best for the patients we service and provide the comfort of the home to.

Covid-19 provided all of us with a challenge never seen before and home medical equipment companies across the country showed just how valuable we are to the health care industry. We provided vital services to hospitals who had no room for patients. We were a lifeline to send people home with oxygen to help ease some of their burden. Our supplies were in short supply, our staff was overloaded, our spirits were bent but not broken but we came to work every single day. In the darkest days of the pandemic, our staff at Walnut Medical were rockstars and shined brighter than ever! The pride that we had in our staff during that period still shines brightly today.

As I sit here in my office, now the Daily Operations Coordinator of Walnut Medical Services as we are celebrating our 40th year caring for our community’s health at home, I reflect on how I started as a young kid not knowing how this job would go and I think of what I have witnessed and been a part of. It gives me pride. I have lost family, friends, coworkers, and patients we care about and it is hard.

However, I love coming to work every day and being a part of this amazing staff who cares for our community and the patients who we help. I get to work with people who are not only my coworkers but my closest friends.

That is why home medical equipment is important to me and remember to ASK FOR WALNUT!

Bob Pfeil

Daily Operations Coordinator