In The News

Better support for oxygen services and better access to respiratory therapists would mean better health outcomes for patients throughout Maine. By Keith Siegel | June 1, 2026 For over four decades, I’ve helped people breathe easier as a respiratory therapist. I evaluate medical oxygen equipment, flow levels and symptoms to understand patients’ needs. Helping patients…

Letters to the Beacon | May 16, 2026 When a loved one close to you has a chronic condition that affects their daily life, there are too many ‘what ifs.’ My sister managed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) for 25 years and relied on portable oxygen to live life to the fullest, but it also…

By Karen Anzalone | May 10, 2026 Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform, or the SOAR Act, will help people with COPD and other diseases. When my dad had a serious exacerbation that forced him into early retirement. We were told he needed supplemental oxygen, and that’s when the reality of living with COPD really set in,…

By Nancy Colletti | April 23, 2026 As a practicing respiratory therapist for over 40 years and a clinical educator for the past 20 years, I have spent countless hours training patients how to manage their supplemental oxygen usage and devices. I’ve also been a caregiver to my father, who has been on medical oxygen…

You never think much about your ability to breathe until you can’t. For those of us needing medical assistance from supplemental oxygen, it’s always top of mind. And despite the urgency of need for oxygen users across the country, access to care is not always easy. Living with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) – a disorder…

I have hiked dozens of 14,000-foot peaks and completed nearly 800 deep-sea dives, so I am not averse to a challenge. Now living with a chronic lung disease, I face my biggest challenge yet: accessing the most basic human necessity, oxygen. Shortly after moving to Newport in 2015, I noticed that hikes became more physically…