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Phoenix Area Oxygen Users Enjoy More Active Lives with New Portable O2 System
Invacare's HomeFill II System is Praised on KAZ-TV's AM Arizona Show
PHOENIX, June 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A self-filling portable oxygen system is dramatically changing the lifestyles of area residents dependent on oxygen, as heavy, cumbersome tanks are replaced by small lightweight canisters that Phoenix area patients can conveniently fill themselves and take anywhere.
This advanced technology, which was discussed on KAZ-TV's AM Arizona this week, allows people who rarely left their homes because of the size and weight of their oxygen tanks or because they worry about running out of oxygen before their next delivery to now become active in their communities. They are eagerly venturing out to shop, golf and enjoy many other activities. In Phoenix, as well as other areas of the country, the quality of life has vastly improved for oxygen users, who no longer have to worry about when their next oxygen delivery will arrive.
"It is just freedom," says Bruce Johnson, a 68-year-old Phoenix resident, who is excited that he doesn't have to feel dependent on oxygen delivery trucks any more. Mr. Johnson, who appeared on KAZ-TV's AM Arizona to talk about the new technology, switched from the big tanks to filling portable canisters himself. He has become more active and is no longer dependent on others for oxygen. He is enjoying life again.
"I can play golf. I put on my little shoulder bag and just go out and play," Mr. Johnson said. "Each canister lasts four or five hours. So I have plenty of time to play 18 holes of golf. You just pull it over your shoulder and go with it. I don't have to call anyone for refills. There is no way I would go back to big tanks."
Indeed, Mr. Johnson's life changed when he discovered the HomeFill(tm) II Oxygen System, a portable oxygen system manufactured by Invacare Corporation that allows a continuous supply of oxygen to be available right in his own home. The oxygen is placed in a small canister weighing less than five pounds. Oxygen users no longer wait anxiously for deliveries; they can make all they need at home.
Mr. Johnson is one of 16 million people diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and at least 1.2 million depend on home oxygen therapy. Since HomeFill became available, thousands of oxygen users are enjoying more active and healthier lives. Medicare and most insurance companies cover HomeFill just as they do the older oxygen system, making it accessible to everyone in need of oxygen.
"Patients often focus on how convenient HomeFill makes getting around," says Scott Wilkinson, the HomeFill product manager at Invacare. "But there are also many health benefits. Studies show that highly ambulatory patients on continuous oxygen have a higher survival rate than low ambulatory patients. HomeFill allows oxygen users to be more active, and it improves their quality of life. And it is such a relief for them not to depend on delivery trucks for something that is so vital to them. Now, oxygen is just as available to them as a glass of water."
Paul Kowalski, part owner of O2 Science, a supplier based in Tempe, says his clients are pleased with HomeFill. "We have people calling us and asking to switch to the portable system," he says. "This is the wave of the future. Oxygen users do it themselves; they are happy and life goes on for them better than they thought it might."
Last fall, Mr. Johnson experienced how much HomeFill could affect his life. As his son lay gravely ill in South Carolina, Mr. Johnson wanted to be with him. With HomeFill playing a major supporting role, Mr. Johnson, his wife and another son drove 2062 miles from Phoenix to Columbia, South Carolina. "I never would have been able to do that without HomeFill," Mr. Johnson recalls. "We filled up the cylinders each evening when we stopped in a hotel. It made the drive possible. I wanted to be there."
Other oxygen users, such as Frances Burt, 81, of Gilbert, Ariz., also cite the impact of HomeFill on their lives.
Ms. Burt, who suffers from asthma, recalls the trauma four years ago when her mother died in a nearby nursing home, and she was out of oxygen. "I needed to get to the nursing home but my tanks were empty," she says. "I had to go through six of the big tanks, trying to find one with enough oxygen in it so I could get over there. Once I got there, the nursing home let me use one of their tanks. But I wasn't sure I would make it there."
Two years ago, Ms. Burt got HomeFill, and she doesn't have those worries anymore because now she can make as much oxygen as she needs.
"Now, I don't have to depend on anyone to get my oxygen out to me. It is always right there ready for me," Ms. Burt says. "I can go out to the movies and to the theater. I don't have to worry about running out. It really gives me freedom."
For more information about HomeFill, please call: 1-800-589-5997.
Contact:
Alicia Ingram, 404-493-1724
Michael K. Frisby, 202-625-4328
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