More Than Just Air: Why Forward-Thinking Oxygen Suppliers Are Partnering with Mobility Experts
If your patients are struggling to breathe, they are likely struggling to climb stairs. Here is why a partnership with a company like Smart Lifts is the missing piece of your home care strategy.
If a patient has the oxygen they need, but they are trapped on the first floor of their home away from their bedroom or shower because of stairs, their quality of life is still compromised.
"Our goal is to keep patients out of the hospital and in the comfort of their own homes. As an oxygen supplier, we see the physical toll that stairs take on our patients every day. Working with Smart Lifts allows us to address the 'exertion gap' directly. It’s about more than just equipment—it’s about a collaborative approach to home safety that truly changes lives."
-Owner, Local DME Provider
As an oxygen supplier, your primary mission is clear: provide the respiratory support necessary for patients to manage chronic conditions like COPD, CHF, or long-term COVID recovery at home. You are their lifeline.
But you also know the reality on the ground. You’ve seen the delivery tickets where a technician has to carry a concentrator up two flights of narrow stairs. You’ve heard patients say they limit their fluid intake so they don’t have to climb the stairs to use the bathroom as often.
You are providing the "fuel" (oxygen), but the "engine" (the patient's body) is still struggling against the terrain of their own home.
This is why a strategic partnership between respiratory suppliers and dedicated mobility specialists like Smart Lifts is becoming essential to comprehensive home healthcare. It’s not just about cross-promoting services; it’s about recognizing that breath and movement are intrinsically linked.
Here is why oxygen suppliers are increasingly formalizing relationships with mobility partners.
1. The Clinical Reality: The "Exertion Gap"
For a patient with severe COPD, climbing a standard flight of 12 stairs can feel like running a 5K. It causes immediate desaturation, extreme fatigue, and anxiety.
When an oxygen supplier provides a stairlift referral, they aren't just suggesting a convenience item; they are offering a crucial tool for energy conservation.
By eliminating the massive physical exertion of climbing stairs, the patient conserves their limited energy for vital activities of daily living (ADLs)—like bathing, dressing, and actually using their respiratory therapy equipment correctly. A patient who isn't exhausted from climbing stairs is a more compliant patient.
2. Becoming a Holistic Home Safety Solution
In a competitive DME market, being "just the oxygen provider" is precarious. The most successful suppliers are evolving into holistic home safety partners.
When your delivery technicians or respiratory therapists are in a home, they are the eyes and ears of healthcare. If they see a patient struggling on the stairs, being able to immediately offer a trusted, vetted solution like Smart Lifts elevates your company’s value. You stop being a vendor and start being a comprehensive problem-solver for the family.
3. A Synergistic Customer Base (Warm Leads Both Ways)
The overlap between the customer base of an oxygen supplier and a stairlift provider is nearly 100%.
Your referral to us: When you set up oxygen for a senior in a two-story home, you know immediately they need help with those stairs.
Our referral to you: When Smart Lifts is called to install a stairlift for someone whose mobility has suddenly declined due to respiratory issues, we often find they are under-supported with DME and need a reliable local oxygen supplier.
A partnership creates a seamless ecosystem of referrals, generating warm, high-quality leads for both businesses without increasing marketing spend.
4. Zero Inventory, Zero Hassle for the Supplier
Oxygen suppliers are masters of logistics—managing tanks, concentrators, and intricate billing codes. The last thing you want is to add complex mechanical inventory like stairlifts to your warehouse.
A partnership with Smart Lifts allows you to offer mobility solutions without touching the product.
We handle the evaluation, the measurement, the custom installation, the servicing, and the warranty. You simply make the introduction, knowing your patient is being handled by experts who care as much about safety as you do.
The Bottom Line
If a patient has the oxygen they need, but they are trapped on the first floor of their home away from their bedroom or shower because of stairs, their quality of life is still compromised.
By partnering with Smart Lifts, oxygen suppliers can close that gap. Together, we ensure that patients can breathe easier and move freely in the homes they love.
Are you a respiratory provider looking to expand your value to your patients? Let’s discuss how a Smart Lifts partnership works.
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