Fort Payne medical supply company experiencing shortages

FORT PAYNE, Ala. (WAFF) - Hospital workers have been busy caring for patients.

And there’s also a strain on companies that provide medical supplies to homebound patients.

“She could be at home with us for her 70th birthday, and we hadn’t seen her in over 30 days,” said Michelle Whited.

Whited is a caretaker for her mother, Shirley Vester.

Vester was sick in the hospital for a month and had to go to a rehab facility before she was released to go home.

Thankfully, Whited was able to go to Complete Care and purchased medical equipment such as a wheelchair, bedside toilet, and hospital bed for her mother’s at-home recovery.

“We were able to have dinner with her. Where she was in a facility when she was on covid lockdown, we could see her through window or facetime,” said Whited.

Complete Care also provides oxygen equipment and tanks for patients needing homebound care.

But due to a nationwide shortage, Leigh Ann Mathews said they haven’t been able to place orders.

“If you need an oxygen tank or backup, then we run into the problem of getting replacement tanks. We try to order extra cylinders that you see on a cart, and they are telling us 4 to 6 months to get those in,” said Matthews.

On top of equipment shortages and delays, Mathews said they have to shell out more money due to price increases.

“Not only has the price gone up, but there is now a shipping surcharge on top of that per machine and pre-pandemic if we placed an order for an oxygen tank, we would have it in 2 to 3 days most of the time,” said Matthews.

Matthews said to help with the demand and increased calls, they have added extra staff on call and drivers.

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