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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Medical Equipment Company Delivers New Service to Airport

Travelers arriving at San Diego International Airport once had limited choices for getting wheelchairs, portable oxygen containers or other medical equipment en route to their next destination. Cruise ship passengers, for example, might need a wheelchair from the airport to the terminal.

A new service signed last month allows medical supply drop-offs at the curbside, something organizers said they expect to catch on at other airports nationwide.

“The concept is you can now be self-sufficient and be ready to go,” said Terry Racciato, president of San Diego-based medical equipment company SpecialCare.

The company finalized an agreement with the airport that gives it a license to operate in exchange for a small fee based on sales. It gives travelers the option of arranging for equipment ahead of time or calling in equipment once they arrive, through its airport kiosk.

Delivery fees range from $15 to $65, depending on the equipment, plus rental costs. A seven-day rental of portable oxygen costs $75, plus $15 a tank, while a scooter is priced at $125 for the same period.

First of Its Kind

Nyle Marmion, manager of concession development at the airport, said the service is the first of its kind for Lindbergh Field.

“We actually reached out to other airports to see if anyone else was offering it to passengers,” he said, adding that no other airports contacted, including Los Angeles International Airport, had similar programs in place. “It’s really an opportunity we thought to pursue.”

SpecialCare, with sales of roughly $3.5 million in 2009 and 2008, began 30 years ago as a home health agency in Racciato’s garage. Later, she sold the home health portion of the business and kept the medical equipment division running.

But it wasn’t until a year ago, after a botched vacation overseas, that SpecialCare decided to expand its business to travelers.

Racciato had planned a three-week getaway to the Italian countryside as part of a postponed honeymoon. But plans to explore opera houses and sample gelato were cut short when Racciato lost her footing in the cobblestone streets of Milan two hours into her vacation.

Racciato said her first order of business was to visit a gelato stand across the street from her hotel. “I was crossing the street back, and hadn’t even tasted the gelato yet,” she said. “I got my foot stuck between the cobblestone.”

After a daylong wait in an Italian emergency room, an exhausted Racciato arrived at her hotel — only to learn that it did not have a wheelchair she could use. Her new itinerary included three unaccommodating airports and an unplanned layover.

Helping Disabled Travelers

“Once I got back to my own state, it was very easy to get equipment delivered to me,” Racciato said. “I thought, ‘It’s great if you own your own medical equipment company, but what if you don’t?’ ”

Racciato said her trip provided the impetus for SpecialCare’s new service offering, which caters to disabled travelers. Besides wheelchairs, the 25-employee firm offers walkers, scooters, portable oxygen and concentrators, portable feeding pumps and hospital beds, among other products. The company also works with travelers whose equipment may have broken during their trip.

Its largest customer, the military, will also be able to benefit from the new service, Racciato said. Active duty military and their families can reserve medical supplies upon their return.

Additionally, Racciato said she sees even more opportunity for growth as baby boomers age and continue traveling.

“As baby boomers become older … this will become more of an issue,” she said.

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