Please Pass The O2

One thing I have learned in this field of Information and Referral is there IS always more to the story I am being told at any given moment. I have been working this semi-crises call all day. A guy called in saying he was running out of O2, OXYGEN, you know the stuff that comes in those green tubes you always see life long smokers dragging round behind them.

This caller is telling me the story about how he is nearly out of O2 and has no way of getting more. He is not on the usual subsidies, which usually acquires this precious gas for people who need it. He tells me that he is new into the disability life style having only submitted his application for Social Security/ Medicaid earlier THIS month. This means to be that he still has a good four months or more to wait, maybe probably longer if he is denied his first round which is often the case.

I get this call for O2 three or times a year and I really don’t have anywhere to send them. I found out the local 211 folks send them over to us which is really scary. I did call the local Senior info line (Aging Services) and they gave me a little more information but Peter the “hot shot” director was not in and has not yet returned my call. He is also the director of the local AIRS ( association of Info and Referral Specialists) I want to define some sort of protocol for these kinds of calls.

I end up getting this guy’s phone number –so I can call him if I happen to find any information which might help his plight. He gives me his mothers phone. I do some calls and get a little imformation which might be helpful and when I call him to give him this information his feeble and elderly mother answered. She sounded just ancient and a little confused but I fiannly got her to remember she may or may not have a son living with her nd she then remembered she did and he was a sleep in the basement. Typical! Myself and who knows how many other service providers are out trying to scare up some O2 for this looser and he is down in the basement sleeping. So I’ll try to call him again tomorrow and tell him of the information I found but I doubt he will be there—and maybe he just does not need the oxygen as much as he sounded like he needed the oxygen but his call has inspired me to make contact with my opposite numbers in other similar organization in the city and develop some sort of a protocol to use when we get oxygen related calls.