In the spring of 2001, Founder and CEO Y. Maria Welch began breathing life into what has become a major force within the home care community. With a single-minded drive to provide the highest level of compassionate care, Maria combined over 25 years of experience in the medical field with her desire to build a company that truly cares about outcomes and accountability. The result was Respira Medical—a company dedicated to ensuring effective treatment for individuals requiring custom tailored home care programs.

Maria’s father, Miguel A. Better, a career iron worker, was in large part the inspiration for Respira Medical. Mr. Better suffered from asbestosis and COPD and ultimately required home respiratory care. Maria and her mother cared for Mr. Better, and they experienced the frustrations that came with the ineffective management of his illness by his various home care providers. Maria was sure there was a better way to treat the patients requiring home care, so she decided to place her focus in the area of home respiratory care. To provide a much needed alternative to the poor treatment shown her father, and in honor of her Hispanic heritage, Maria formed her company, Respira, which means ‘to breathe’ in Spanish.

Today, Respira Medical is becoming one of the largest providers of clinical respiratory services and home medical equipment within the Mid Atlantic Region. As evidenced by its local, national and international awards for clinical innovation, business acumen, and community service, Respira Medical is dedicated to excellence. Y. Maria Welch and the history of Miguel A. Better are alive and well and are continuing to breathe a better quality of life into all served by Respira.