CAMPO, Calif. — Virginia Taylor, 69-years-old, lives in a Campo RV park. She depends on social security to get by and Medi-Cal/Medicare pays for her oxygen, ever since she suffered heart failure a few years back.
“I'd probably pass out if I didn't have my oxygen and have to call 911 if I didn't have it. I need my oxygen,” said Taylor.
For the past three years, Taylor said a Scripps Ranch company called Apria Healthcare had been delivering oxygen tanks to her Campo RV home, about twenty tanks every other month.
But on March 1, Taylor said the oxygen tank deliveries stopped.
“They just said they're not delivering any longer, and that I would have to go up to their office to pick up my oxygen tanks,” said Taylor. “They said there was a shortage of supplies and drivers because of the COVID thing.”
Taylor had no choice. She drove an hour to the Apria Healthcare offices to pick up her oxygen tanks herself.
“It was very inconvenient because I'm not familiar with Scripps Ranch at all. I got lost,” she said.
When Taylor arrived, she said she was surprised to find her regular delivery driver hanging out in the loading bay.
“I don't know if it's the fuel costs or what. But my driver helped load them into my trunk. He was just standing in the bay,” Taylor said.
Apria Healthcare is a national company based out of Lake Forest, California.
The firm has a B+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website, and a one-star out of five review rating.
The company emailed CBS 8 the following statement:
“Apria takes its mission of improving the quality of life for patients at home seriously, and we are investigating Virginia Taylor’s concerns regarding the delivery of her oxygen equipment. Once we confirm all of the necessary details, we will contact Ms. Taylor to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
“I think that they should deliver the tanks and pick up their old tanks because right now I have 20 tanks sitting on the ground,” Taylor said.
On March 29, Apria Healthcare posted a news release on its website announcing the company had been acquired for $1.6 billion by a new parent company, Owens & Minor, Inc.
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