Author: eanderson

REquipment is delighted to announce a new partnership with the Cape Organization for the Rights of the Disabled (CORD’s) Mobile Food Pantry. The Mobile Food Pantry serves thousands of residents with disabilities who can’t get to food pantries on the Cape. CORD and REquipment are joining forces to spread the word about their essential services for individuals with disabilities.

CORD is the independent living center that serves individuals with disabilities on the Cape and Islands. CORD’s bus removes access barriers by bringing food closer to where people with disabilities live, increasing food security, and improving health. The Mobile Food Pantry has a visible presence on the Cape; the bright yellow bus travels across 13 towns between Bourne and Provincetown. The bus is operated by volunteers and since inception, the program has distributed 6,800 bags of food from designated delivery sites.

REquipment does not have a physical presence on the Cape. Getting the word out about our program has been a challenge there. The visibility of that bright yellow bus inspired us to purchase ad space and help support its mission. Now, as the bus travels up and down the Cape, REquipment’s logo and message is carried with it: “Choose to Reuse Your DME.” Our ad is helping support the operation of a program that has been “Fighting Hunger – Feeding Hope” since 2016.

We are thrilled to join together in this way and help promote food security and greater independence and safety at home and in the community. We hope to see an increase in equipment donations as well as equipment reassignments on the Cape this next year as a result of this partnership.

For more information about the Mobile Food Pantry contact CORD at (508) 775-8300 or cordinfo@cilcapecod.org.

This past month REquipment Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Reuse Program hit an important milestone. Since our program was first piloted in 2013, we have now refurbished and delivered over $10 million worth of durable medical equipment to seniors, people with disabilities including children and veterans, and those with a temporary need throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

How many devices does this add up to?

5,535 power and manual wheelchairs, scooters, standers, lifts, rollators, bathroom devices, portable ramps, recreation equipment, and other types of DME have been distributed. Each has meant a Massachusetts resident was made safer and more independent at home and in their community.

Residents like the woman whose son called us desperate to obtain a manual wheelchair so she could get out of the hospital in advance of the Covid-19 epidemic. With our assistance, she was discharged the next day with a new-to-her manual chair.

Residents like the woman with a terminal condition whose daughter asked us for a power chair so her mother could get around her house and regain a sense of some control in her life. We provided the chair and her daughter let us know about the renewed independence her mother felt during the time she’d had left.

We’ve been humbled to help so many Massachusetts residents avoid institutionalization and help others transition home more quickly from a hospital or nursing home.

Some of our favorite successes, however, are hearing from residents who are using adaptive bikes or sports equipment for the first time. REquipment has made it possible for individuals with disabilities to get out with their family and friends and enjoy what it feels like to ride a bike and be a part of the group, boosting their quality of life and sense of well being.

So let’s celebrate! Not only have we improved lives, our program has also saved public and private insurers and those paying out of pocket, millions of dollars by giving valuable equipment a second life, and keeping it out of landfills.

In the words of Massachusetts Senate President Emerita Harriet Chandler, “REquipment is a gem of a program!”

View an audio-described version of this video

A power wheelchair was recently donated to REquipment with an anonymous note intended for the next user. Get out your tissues and never underestimate the power of a wheelchair (or a reuse program!) 

To the recipient of this chair:

I am truly sorry about the circumstances in which you find the need for this chair. I can only hope it brings you as much enjoyment, comfort, and peace of mind as it did for my husband.

It has been a difficult decision for me to part with this chair. However, I know in my heart that the time has come for me to pay it forward.

This chair gave my husband the ability to do some of the simplest things in life that most may take for granted. In his final days, my husband was able to go outside and enjoy fresh air and even walk our dog which was so amazing to see (I recorded it). The first time he got in the chair and went out the door, he left track marks on our front lawn. I think he thought he was riding a Harley or driving a Maserati. Either way, the rubber hit the road and he was in his “glory days.” Of course, I think he was showing off a little bit, too, trying to impress me. Imagine that, 23 years of marriage and he was still trying to impress me.

We both underestimated the power of this chair because it had nothing do do with the motor, albeit powerful. You see, the power of the chair was about the “glory days” he felt while using it in ways that would not have been possible without this chair. Even if it was for just a short time.

I hope you find those moments as well! I will leave one last thought, below, which I whole-heartedly believe:

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Author unknown

Best wishes to you as you embark on this journey with this chair!

It’s been almost four weeks since we last delivered DME due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. I’m writing to report that as of yesterday we are again making deliveries from our Worcester location. We are not yet accepting many donations, but we are making progress toward providing more services. Here’s how this is rolling out:

REquipment is an “essential service” – Yay!

Recently the state determined REquipment provides an “essential service” and can, therefore, remain open (our Worcester and Canton sites are in state-operated facilities). Since then, we have been scrambling to acquire Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff who clean/refurbish and deliver donated medical equipment.  Currently, we do not have what we need to open our Amherst and Pittsfield sites, and since our Canton site is short-staffed, we are focusing our return to operations in Worcester.

New priorities

As of April 8th, we are implementing new priorities. Deliveries of refurbished equipment will be prioritized over the pick-up of donations. We have a waiting list for over 80 devices that amassed while we were unable to access our inventory!

For delivery, we are serving individuals with the most urgent needs first. Priority one are people requesting wheelchairs or sling lifts for urgent health/safety issues or to effect discharge from a hospital or rehab setting. Next are requests for tub seats, shower chairs, rollators, etc. We are currently not delivering equipment for use in a classroom setting–as schools are closed–or any equipment for recreational purposes.

New protocols

Rest assured, “clean” deliveries and “dirty” donations will not be carried in the van at the same time. Our vans will also be thoroughly cleaned when all deliveries for the day have been made.

Deliveries of equipment will only be accomplished on a “no contact” basis with receivers. Drivers will wear masks and gloves and cleaned equipment covered with a plastic bag. While establishing a delivery date and time, we will ask if there is a location such as a porch, deck or garage where the equipment may be left. People requesting DME must be home to retrieve it after our driver informs them it has been delivered.  Receipt forms will be handled electronically.

When will donations be accepted?

Call us if you have a wheelchair, scooter, lift, or bathroom equipment to donate but don’t need it collected urgently. We will accept donations after we have completed delivery for everyone currently on our waiting list. We also must first acquire appropriate masks for equipment cleaners/refurbishers.

Our priority for picking up donated items will be to collect power and manual wheelchairs, scooters, and sling lifts first. Other donations will be accepted on an “as needed” basis only.  All donations will be quarantined in an off-site storage container for 5-7 days. After that period, staff using appropriate PPE will begin assessing, refurbishing, and sanitizing equipment and then listing it on the inventory as available.

Know we are grateful

It was good news when the state of Massachusetts recognized the essential role we are playing to keep our neighbors safe and well and out of medical facilities needed for this crisis. We have been anguished to not be in a position to fill urgent needs: the woman whose husband has end-stage ALS and requires a sling lift to keep him safe and with her at home; the man stuck in the hospital waiting for his new power wheelchair in order to be discharged. Now we can address these needs and soon we hope to have the capacity to respond to urgent calls for donation pick-ups, as well. To those who need us in this way, please understand that while we cannot yet accept all donations, we are grateful for your gently-used DME, and we understand very well how collecting the equipment of a deceased loved-one and providing it an appropriate home can also be an urgent need. Thank you and know that we are holding you in the light (as the Quakers say).

Please continue to request our equipment through the online inventory at www.dmereuse.org.

Have access to masks? Please contact me at klangley@dmereuse.org.

In the nursing home, no one thought he could talk. He did it so rarely. A proud African-American father of two school-aged children, “Andre” was in his late 30s when he experienced a series of strokes that resulted in partial paralysis to his left side. He spent two years in a substandard nursing home, leaving bed rarely, silent with resignation.

Three months ago, MRC’s Acquired Brain Injury program moved Andre to residential living. Funds available through a “Moving Forward Plan” MassHealth Waiver made the transition possible and he was soon evaluated for the equipment he would need to live in a group home. The nursing home had sent him with a standard folding manual wheelchair that did not fit his large frame and without the features necessary to keep him securely seated. His new equipment, however, would take months to receive from the vendor. What would he do in the meantime? Stay in bed? Nothing new there. For a month, Andre missed doctor appointments and submitted to sponge baths.

Then the mother of another resident, herself a REquipment program user, suggested the group home find Andre reuse equipment while he waited for his new DME. Anna, the group home program director, had not heard of our program and was swiftly on our website. She saw equipment that looked appropriate and called to speak with our staff. The devices, a manual full-tilt wheelchair, and a large shower chair, had been posted to our inventory just four days prior. “It feels meant to be,” she told us. Anna collected them from our Worcester center in a matter of days.

Andre was suddenly mobile.

“He has long conversations with us now,” Anna reported in a recent follow up for this story. “He’s had the equipment for two months and it’s been life-altering.”

Yes, he’s still waiting on his new devices.

“Simple things make a huge difference for someone who was basically in bed for years,” she emphasizes. “He can take a shower ‘like an adult,’ is how he puts it. He can make doctor appointments and he recently went into the community for a haircut. That experience was so important to him.”

Anna says Andre uses the chair for, often, five hours at a time. We could not be more delighted. This equipment is much more than mobility, we know that. It’s dignity.

Recently Dan Perkins, REquipment Donations Coordinator, made a follow-up call to Kelly McDermott, a physical therapist with the Boston Public Schools. Kelly had received a tilt-in-space pediatric wheelchair from REquipment and Dan called to hear how it was going and help troubleshoot any problems or concerns. Kelly has helped many families acquire the equipment their children need through our program, but Dan soon heard this case was special. They decided it was a story to share.

“Peter” was born very prematurely and spent the first three years of his life living at the hospital. He came home in August and with the tilt-in-space wheelchair Kelly found in the REquipment inventory, he’s now successfully made the transition to school.

When he first came home his parents had just a standard stroller for him. But Peter is not yet able to walk, has a tracheostomy, a feeding tube, a suction machine and could not be easily transported to school without the specialized equipment that could make that possible. To be safe on the bus he required, too, a wheelchair that is transport-safe with a chest harness and pelvic belt.

Kelly was amazed when she found the pediatric device he needed in the REquipment inventory.

“Insurance takes months,” she emphasizes, again and again. “We expect his request to be approved, but lately–in general–denials have been getting worse. It feels like they look for reasons to deny and then you have to go through the appeals and it all drags out. We’re so grateful for REquipment.”

Kelly says that Peter’s nurse, who accompanies him to school, is delighted by the chair because it can carry all his durable medical equipment and accommodate using his different devices throughout the day as well as tilt Peter back as needed. The bus driver is happy because it’s safe for transport and his teacher is happy; the wheelchair came with a tray and Peter can easily participate in fine motor activities.

The real surprise, however, was Peter himself, “and how delighted he is to go to school!” Kelly gushes. After all, wouldn’t the school transition be stressful, as it is for so many three-year-olds? “But he’s just been smiling, engaged, participating and eager. He’s just doing so well.” He doesn’t speak since he has a tracheostomy, but he expresses clear preferences and his intelligence shines, she says.

Considering what we all know about the importance of these early years for development and growth, REquipment is humbled to have the opportunity to make this kind of positive impact on the lives of children and their families, an impact that will span out over the course of their whole lives.

For her part, Kelly stresses how grateful she and her colleagues are to have access to our program. “The chair was in perfect condition. It was cleaned. Everything worked. The brakes were good; the tilt worked; the lateral supports, we could adjust it; everything was awesome. I’ve requested a lot of equipment over the years for kids who don’t have insurance or have inadequate insurance: gait trainers and standers that have benefitted our students. I don’t know what we’d do without REquipment.”

Folks-

I’m writing to let you know that while it’s going to be a while before we can take your donations or deliver your equipment, REquipment is not closed. We are working to get through this period of uncertainty, mindful of how important our services are to individuals and families who need us.

Here’s what’s happening:

Currently, we are not able to take donations or make deliveries because we do not have access to our state facilities. These are temporarily closed by new rules imposed by the state of Massachusetts to mitigate exposure to the virus. We are, however, diligently working to respond to equipment requests and move the paperwork necessary to assign devices that are ready to distribute from our inventory. In this way, once we regain access, we can minimize wait times for delivery. We are also strategizing about how to regain access as soon as possible.

REquipment is an important part of the safety and security that people with disabilities need during this crisis and under normal conditions. Closing our doors is not an end goal for coronavirus safety.  So stay tuned.

In the meantime, your health and our health is a top priority. We continue to answer phone calls and emails. We are reviewing universal precautions we already have in place to ensure they are followed. Our vans and reuse centers are being thoroughly cleaned. When we are ready to go, you can be sure we are safe with all our operations.

Please take care of yourselves during this virus season. Remember that following the recommended protocols helps protect our whole community, especially those who are most vulnerable to developing COVID-19. Wash your hands frequently and for a minimum of 20 seconds, cough and sneeze into your elbow, stay out of crowds, isolate yourself at home if you are in a risk category, sanitize your DME and other frequently touched surfaces (learn more at this MassMATCH blog post: AT and Coronavirus Preparedness). Hopefully, we will get through this quickly.

Stay well. We look forward to serving you again in the near future.

Last week, 130 employees of Dalkia Solutions ended their regional training with a team bonding event that will make a big difference for the REquipment program inventory.

Thirteen groups of ten assembled new manual wheelchairs from boxes of component parts. They then held a relay race, maneuvering the chairs through an obstacle course egged on by cheers and popular music. The winners won bragging rights. The chairs were donated to REquipment.

Needless to say, I made sure everyone understood the impact those chairs would have for individuals and families in Massachusetts.

Last year, REquipment gave away 423 manual wheelchairs. Manual chairs are our most requested and provided device. I gave examples of who we’ve helped: a teenage girl who broke both legs snowboarding, a man undergoing dialysis, a woman recovering from a stroke.

Employees from Maine to Georgia took part in this team building program, “Wheelchairs in Motion,” offered by Team Bonding. It was a wonderful way for a company to give back and it provided a great opportunity for us to talk up DME reuse to people who can take that message up and down the East Coast.

At the end of the day, three Dalkia Solutions employees sought me out. Two were from Georgia: a man looking to donate his daughter’s adapted bike and another man who needed a power scooter. I referred them to FODAC, the largest and one of the oldest reuse programs in the country located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The third employee was from Maine and was looking for a manual wheelchair for a veteran who was having trouble obtaining what he needs from the VA. She volunteers with Honor Mission for Veterans and I referred her to the National Pass It On Center for help finding her closest reuse program.

What will happen next with these chairs? REquipment will inspect them to ensure they were properly put together. They will be listed in our inventory in the coming days.

If you need a manual wheelchair, go to our inventory at dmerequipment.org to see if we have a wheelchair to fit your size.  If you have questions, email us at info@dmereuse.org or call us at 1 800 261 9841.