R.E.S.T. Easy

If it hadn't been for his dad, Chris Depew might never have come up with the idea for the Respiratory Equipment Supply Team, or R.E.S.T.

Depew's dad loves to travel, but his enthusiasm dimmed considerably when he had to take along his continuous positive airway pressure device. He found the whole process — carting along the unit, trying to get through airline security and getting it on the plane, then repeating the process to get home — frustrating and embarrassing, Depew said.

When he had to open the box, take everything out and explain it to security officers for one trip, it was the last straw. He stopped using it on his travels. “And then he was out of compliance,” Depew says, adding that his father had also tried checking the equipment with his luggage, but it got broken.

Depew wanted to make traveling easier for his dad — and for other CPAP users with similar travel travails he met through his former job as a branch operations manager for Apria. What would happen, he wondered, if there was a company that would send a CPAP and disposable supplies to a traveler's destination?

Now, there is.

In April, Depew and two partners opened R.E.S.T. in Reno, Nev. Depew handles the marketing, while Marlette Gutierrez, whose background is in customer service, directs administrative services and Marshall Mowery, a respiratory therapist, is the director of clinical service.

After servicing their first customer, Depew says he is certain of one thing: “This is the future.”

‘This Is a New Market’

From the beginning, Depew and his two partners knew they were charting new territory.

“This is a new market. We're not just another company out there in another niche. We are pioneering a new market,” says Depew.

There was no blueprint for their business, no tried-and-true model to follow. They took it slow, polling physicians, sleep labs, sleep techs, hotels, cruise ships, the American Sleep Apnea Association, vendors and, of course, Depew's dad, for constructive criticism and suggestions.

“We just put it out there — what if there was a company that would provide this — and people were blown away,” says Depew, adding, “It's been very well received. We got a ton of support and no negative responses.”