By Sree Roy
Randy Thinnes may have left the trucking profession many years ago, but while you can take the driver out of the truck, you can’t entirely take the love of trucking out of the driver.
Now the Senior Area Manager of Occupational Health at PAP manufacturer ResMed, Thinnes has proven himself a guardian angel of sorts for commercial vehicle drivers with sleep apnea. When the former CDL license holder recently learned that attendees at an Owner-Operator Independent Drivers’ Association (OOIDA) show often turn up with poor quality taped-together PAP masks and can’t afford new ones, Thinnes stepped into gear and donated a variety of high-quality masks through ResMed.
“ResMed has always been incredibly supportive of special needs. There’s an emphasis on putting people first,” Thinnes says. “These are tough economic times; I know there are drivers who are struggling to just stay on the road physically and financially. We believe if donating a few masks can help them feel better, be safer, and avoid stroke or heart attack, then it is pretty worthwhile.”
ResMed also takes truckers into account when designing its PAP machines. “The ResMed S9 devices were built on a DC platform specifically to make them more efficient when running off a truck’s batteries,” Thinnes told Sleep Review. “The trucking industry has very specific demands and our goal is to make sure we are providing the very best products that can be used in the truck as well as at home.” And for the drivers who got free mask replacements through ResMed’s donations, that’s a restful thought indeed.
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