HME Heroes

I have been sitting in front of my TV for a whole day watching what Hurricane Irene has done and am fascinated and saddened by what Mother Nature can do. The damage created by wind and rain is far beyond my ability to comprehend.

We can build space ships that fly men to the moon and build a space station circling the world manned by astronauts, but we cannot control nature.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, fires and floods are happenings that occur beyond our control and we must cope with them. These are not of our doing and there is very little we can do about them. However, when this happens all of us gather together and work with one another to salvage what remains and repair much of what was lost.

I offer a special tribute to the HME providers who see to it that their patients are always protected during these critical days. How many cylinders of oxygen are delivered during a blizzard or a flood? Somehow, the need of the patient has always been supreme.

My congratulations to all of these unsung heroes! I hope that our congressmen and legislators are aware of their efforts. There are no rewards asked and providers accept this as simply their responsibility. I hope the policymakers will think of this when they try to reduce reimbursements!