EXHIBIT 10.9

NONCOMPETITION AGREEMENT

This
Noncompetition Agreement (this Agreement) is dated as of the 5th day of May,
2006 (the Effective Date) by and between Daniel J. Starck (the
Executive) and Apria Healthcare Group Inc. (the Company).

RECITALS

WHEREAS,
concurrently herewith, the Executive is entering into an Amended and Restated Severance
Agreement with the Company dated as of the 5th day of May, 2006 (the Severance
Agreement); and

WHEREAS,
the Executive and the Company hereby intend to enter into certain agreements pertaining to
the protection of the Companys confidential information and its business by causing
the Executive to agree to satisfy certain obligations to perform and refrain from
performing certain acts prior to and following the termination of the Executives
employment with the Company, and for the Company to pay consideration to the Executive in
exchange for the agreement by the Executive to take and refrain from taking certain
actions following such termination of employment.

AGREEMENT

1.       
          Acknowledgements by the Executive. The Executive acknowledges that:

| | (a)       
               In carrying out his duties and responsibilities to the Company, the Executive is
               a member of the Companys senior executive management and participates in
               formulating and implementing business plans and policies that are and will
               continue to be essential to the Companys competitive success;
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| | (b)       
               These activities require relationships of trust and confidence between the
               Executive and the Companys other officers and the Companys
               directors;
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| | (c)       
               The Executive, in the performance of his duties on behalf of the Company, has
               had and will have access to, has received and will receive, and was entrusted
               and will be entrusted with confidential information, including but not limited
               to systems technology, field operations, reimbursement, development, marketing,
               organizational, financial, management, administrative, clinical, customer,
               distribution and sales information, data, specifications and processes owned by
               the Company or its agents or consultants, or used presently or at any time in
               the future in the course of its business that is not otherwise part of the
               public domain (collectively, the Confidential Material). All such
               Confidential Material is considered secret and was and will be made available to
               the Executive in confidence;
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| | (d)       
               The Executives employment with a competitor of the Company within a
               reasonable time following the termination of his employment with the Company
               would create a substantial likelihood that the Executive would inevitably
               disclose or use, to the detriment of the Company, such Confidential Information,
               and that it is essential to the Companys legitimate business interests and
               also to free and fair competition in the industry within which the Company does
               business, to protect the Companys Confidential Material from disclosure;
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| | (e)       
               The risk of inevitable disclosure is particularly applicable to any such
               employment by the Executive in a similar senior position with those competitors
               of the Company that are similar in operation, service, missions and markets to
               the Company (Principal Competitors), and that as of the date of this
               Agreement the Principal Competitors are: Lincare Holdings, Inc.; Rotech
               Healthcare, Inc.; American HomePatient, Inc.; Coram Healthcare Corporation;
               Option Care, Inc.; Pacific Pulmonary Services Corporation; LifeCare Solutions,
               Inc.; or the home healthcare business of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. or
               Praxair, Inc. and their parent, affiliated and subsidiary companies; and
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| | (f)       
               Following a change in ownership or control of the Company, there is a heightened
               risk that the Executives employment by a Principal Competitor could cause
               substantial harm to the Company as a result of the inherent instability of any
               enterprise following a change in ownership or control.
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2.       
          Noncompetition Agreement. The Executive hereby acknowledges, represents,
          warrants and covenants that:

| | (a)       
               In order avoid the disclosure by the Executive of the Companys trade
               secrets or other Confidential Material to those businesses that could most
               adversely affect the performance of the Company, the Executive promises and
               agrees that, during the period of his employment by the Company and, in the
               event that the Executives employment terminates within the period that
               (i) begins with the first to occur of (1) the initial public
               announcement of a Change of Control (as defined in the Severance Agreement), or
               (2) the 90th day preceding a Change of Control and (ii) ends two years
               following such Change of Control, for a period of one year thereafter (the
               Post-Termination Period), he will not enter business with or work
               with or for, whether as an employee, consultant or otherwise, any Principal
               Competitor.
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| | (b)       
               During the term of his employment and during the Post-Termination Period, the
               Executive will not influence or attempt to influence customers, patients, or
               referral sources of the Company or any of its present or future subsidiaries or
               affiliates, either directly or indirectly, to divert their business to any
               Principal Competitor.
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3.       
          Agreement to Compensate the Executive.

| | (a)       
               The parties agree that, in the event that within the period that (i) begins
               with the first to occur of (1) the initial public announcement of a Change
               of Control (as defined in the Severance Agreement), or (2) the 90th day
               preceding a Change of Control and (ii) ends two years following such Change
               of Control, the Executives employment is terminated by the Company for any
               reason other than disability or Cause (as defined in the Severance Agreement),
               or in the event that the Executive terminates his employment with the Company
               with Good Reason (as defined in the Severance Agreement) during said period, the
               Executive shall be entitled to receive payments that equal $750,000 in the
               aggregate, it being understood that (A) such payments are intended to compensate
               the Executive fully for the performance of the covenants of the Executive during
               the Post-Termination Period provided in Section 2 above, and (B) the
               Executive is not entitled to receive any payments under this Section 3 in the
               event the Executives employment is terminated other than under one of the
               circumstances described in this Section 3(a).
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| | (b)       
               The payment payable to the Executive pursuant to Section 3(a) above shall be
               divided into thirteen (13) equal installments and paid bi-weekly over the
               twenty-six (26)-week period beginning on the first business day that is six
               months after the termination of the Executives employment with the
               Company; provided, however, that if any such payment date is not a business day,
               payment shall be delayed until the next following business day.
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| | (c)       
               The Executive expressly acknowledges and agrees that his right to continue to
               receive the payments hereunder is subject to his continued compliance with the
               restrictive covenants set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement. If the
               Company determines that the Executive is in violation of any of the restrictive
               covenants set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement, then the Company,
               following written notice to the Executive explaining the basis for its decision,
               may, except as provided in Section 5(a) below, suspend any future payments
               scheduled to be made pursuant to this Section 3; provided, however, that:
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| | (i)       
               the burden of proving that the Executive is in violation of any of the
               restrictive covenants set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement shall be on
               the Company;
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| | (ii)       
               the Company shall pay all expenses incurred by the Executive in prosecuting or
               defending any proceeding pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof with regard to
               such determination by the Company as they are incurred by the Executive in
               advance of the final disposition of such proceedings, together with any tax
               liability incurred by the Executive in connection with the receipt of such
               amounts; provided, however, that the payment of such expenses incurred in
               advance of the final disposition of such proceeding shall be made only upon
               delivery to the Company of an undertaking, by or on behalf of the Executive, to
               repay all amounts so advanced to the extent the arbitrator in such proceeding
               affirmatively determines that the Company is the prevailing party, taking into
               account all claims made by any such party to such proceeding; and
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| | (iii)       
               all payments described in Section 3 of this Agreement shall continue to be made
               or provided on the dates provided herein as if no such violation exists, except
               in the event a final determination pursuant to the arbitration provisions of
               Section 5(a) has been rendered and such determination provides that the
               Executive is, in fact, in violation of any of the restrictive covenants set
               forth in Section 2 of this Agreement.
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| | In
order to implement the principle of this Section 3(c), in the event that an arbitrator
determines that the Executive has violated the provisions of Section 2 of this Agreement,
the arbitrator may require that the Executive return to the Company any amounts paid to
the Executive pursuant to Section 3(c)(iii) following the date of such violation.
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| | (d)       
               In addition, the Company and the Executive acknowledge and agree that the
               cessation of payments under this Section 3 shall be the Companys sole
               and exclusive remedy of any breach by the Executive of any of the restrictive
               covenants set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement.
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4.       
          Term of the Agreement. This Agreement shall have an initial term (the
          Term) of two years and shall terminate and be of no further force or
          effect on the second anniversary of the Effective Date; provided, however, that
          commencing on the second anniversary of the Effective Date and on each
          anniversary thereafter (each an Extension Date), the Term shall be
          automatically extended for an additional one-year period, unless the Company
          provides the Executive with written notice at least 30 days before the next
          Extension Date that the Term shall not be so extended. Notwithstanding anything
          in this Agreement to the contrary, upon the occurrence of a Change of Control,
          the Term shall automatically be extended until the latest of (i) the second
          anniversary of the consummation of the Change of Control or (ii) the
          expiration of the Post-Termination Period if a termination triggering the
          payment of the benefits described in Section 3 occurs during the 24 month
          period following a Change in Control, or (iii) the expiration of all of the
          Companys and/or any successors obligations under this Agreement.

5.       
          Miscellaneous.

| | (a)       
               Arbitration. Any dispute or controversy arising under or in connection
               with this Agreement or the Executives employment by the Company shall be
               settled exclusively by arbitration, conducted before a single neutral arbitrator
               in accordance with the American Arbitration Associations National Rules
               for Resolution of Employment Disputes as then in effect. Such arbitration shall
               be conducted in Orange County, California, and the arbitrator shall be a
               resident of Orange County, California or of a county contiguous to Orange
               County, California. Judgment may be entered on the arbitrators award in
               any court having jurisdiction; provided, however, that the Executive shall be
               entitled to seek specific performance of his right to be paid until the date of
               employment termination during the pendency of any dispute or controversy arising
               under or in connection with this Agreement. Any arbitration proceeding
               pertaining to this Agreement shall be consolidated with any arbitration
               proceeding pertaining to the Severance Agreement. The arbitrators order
               shall specify, based on the outcome of the arbitration, whether the Executive
               shall repay any of the Executives expenses theretofore paid by the Company
               pursuant to Section 3(c)(ii) of this Agreement. The fees and expenses of
               the arbitrator and the arbitration shall be borne by the Company.
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| | (b)       
Successors.
| | ----------------------

| | (i)       
               This Agreement is personal to the Executive and shall not, without the prior
               written consent of the Company, be assignable by the Executive.
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| | (ii)       
               This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company,
               its subsidiaries and its successors and any successor to the Company shall be
               deemed substituted for the Company under the terms of this Agreement for all
               purposes. As used herein, successor shall include any person, firm,
               corporation or other business entity which at any time, whether by purchase,
               merger or otherwise, directly or indirectly acquires either a controlling
               interest in the voting stock of the Company or substantial portion of or the
               business of the Company. This Agreement shall be considered to be assigned to
               any such successor, whether that happens by operation of law, operation of the
               terms of this Agreement, or otherwise.
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| | (c)       
               Waiver. No waiver of any breach of any term or provision of this
               Agreement shall be construed to be, nor shall be, a waiver of any other breach
               of this Agreement. No waiver shall be binding unless in writing and signed by
               the party waiving the breach.
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| | (d)       
               Modification. This Agreement may not be amended or modified other than by
               a written agreement executed by the Executive and the Company.
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| | (e)       
               Severability. The provisions of this Agreement are severable and in the
               event that a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any provision of
               this Agreement is in violation of any law or public policy, in whole or in part,
               only the portions of this Agreement that violate such law or public policy shall
               be stricken. All portions of this Agreement that do not violate any statute or
               public policy shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and
               effect. Further, any court order striking any portion of this Agreement shall
               modify the stricken terms as narrowly as possible to give as much effect as
               possible to the intentions of the parties under this Agreement.
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| | (f)       
               Complete Agreement. This Agreement and the Severance Agreement constitute
               and contain the entire agreement and final understanding concerning the
               Executives employment with the Company and the other subject matters
               addressed herein between the parties. This Agreement and the Severance Agreement
               are intended by the parties as a complete and exclusive statement of the terms
               of their agreement. They supersede and replace all prior negotiations and all
               agreements proposed or otherwise, whether written or oral, concerning the
               subject matter hereof. Any representation, promise or agreement not specifically
               included in this Agreement or the Severance Agreement shall not be binding upon
               or enforceable against either party. This Agreement, together with the Severance
               Agreement, constitute a fully integrated agreement.
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| | (g)       
               Governing Law. This Agreement shall be deemed to have been executed and
               delivered within the State of California and the rights and obligations of the
               parties hereunder shall be construed and enforced in accordance with, and
               governed by, by the laws of the State of California without regard to principles
               of conflict of laws.
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| | (h)       
               Construction. In any construction to be made of this Agreement, the same
               shall not be construed against any party on the basis that the party was the
               drafter. The captions of this Agreement are not part of the provisions hereof
               and shall have no force or effect.
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| | (i)       
               Communications. All notices, requests, demands and other communications
               hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if
               delivered by hand or by courier, or if mailed by registered or certified mail,
               postage prepaid, addressed to the Executive his most recent address on record
               with the Company, or addressed to the Company at 26220 Enterprise Court, Lake
               Forest, CA 92630, Attention: General Counsel, with a copy to the attention of
               the Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Either party may change the address
               at which notice shall be given by written notice given in the above manner.
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| | (j)       
               Execution. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts,
               each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall
               constitute one and the same instrument.
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IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first
above written.

|APRIA HEALTHCARE GROUP INC.
By ____________________________  
        
Lawrence M. Higby
        
Chief Executive Officer | EXECUTIVE
____________________________  
Daniel J. Starck
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