Breathing Disorders Services
Expands Operations

By Steve Wedel

Oklahoma City-based Breathing Disorders Services has doubled the number of states in which it offers home medical equipment.  The niche firm specializes in therapeutic equipment to help people diagnosed with breathing disorders.  

The company has opened offices in Colorado Springs, Colo., Hemet, Calif., and Kingman, Ariz.  The company already was operating in Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.  A company spokesperson said the expansion brings the total number of regular employees to 32, with about 20 of those located at the Oklahoma City headquarters.  “Most of our other offices are two-to-three-man operations, with some contractors,” an official spokesperson said.  

BDS provides in-home nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) equipment and support to people with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.  The disorder causes people to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep.  an official spokesperson said estimates show that about 40 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders and many of them go undiagnosed.  Sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, stroke, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure.  an official spokesperson said people with asthma and allergies are particularly prone to suffer from sleep disorders.  

BDS has purposely located all its offices near successful sleep laboratories.  “We find successful sleep labs across the country and set up close to them.  Then we build strategic alliances to help the patients,” he said.  

an official spokesperson said the wars to get insurance companies to pay for breathing devices were fought 15 years ago and now most insurance companies do cover the expense.  He described his company’s device – known as CPAP – as a pneumatic splint.  It is a mask users wear while sleeping.  It pushes mildly pressurized air into the nasal passages, keeping the airway open.  “Getting people to actually wear the masks has been a problem for many companies offering similar devices.  By stressing customer education and support, an official spokesperson said his company claims a level of therapy compliance that exceeds the national average by 78 percent.  

“It’s vital to close that loop,” he said.  “We can make sure patients have the device, but we also want to make sure they know how to use it when they get it home.  We’re there every step of the way.”  The company web site boasts 24-hour support for users of CPAP.

The education program is called Sleep Disordered Breathing Rehab.  an official spokesperson said sales of the company’s CPAP devices have increased more than 50 percent since the program was adopted.  He added that the company has seen a 59 percent increase in referrals for nasal CPAPs.  

 “We’ve had calls from people traveling in Guam and other places who have left their CPAP at home and want us to FedEx them another one.  “Imagine these people who have been tired all their life, then they get their CPAP and suddenly they can function at optimal levels,” he said.  “They don’t want to be without it.”  

 Signs that a person may have sleep apnea include loud snoring, hypertension, pauses in breathing during the night and excessive daytime sleepiness.  an official spokesperson said using a CPAP device could do more than lower blood pressure and possibly save lives by preventing heart disease, stroke and accidents caused by fatigue.  “We’ve saved marriages,” he said.  “Some of our patients were snoring at a decibel level that would be considered unsafe by OSHA.  CPAP fixed that.”  

 As more and more people come to see the link between sleep disorders and other health problems, an official spokesperson said he hopes to see his organization expanding into more areas.  “These new offices mark another milestone in our business plan to selectively establish and acquire home medical equipment operations in proximity to sleep diagnostic labs across the nation,” he said.  

 The company also sells home medical devices.