Category: blog

A few years ago, Massachusetts State Senator Walter Timilty (Norfolk) recognized his neighbor, Brendan Cook, on the cover of REquipment’s annual report. This was during the annual Southeast Regional Legislative Breakfast (hosted by Easterseals and Old Colony Elder Services), an event designed to inform lawmakers of the value of disability programs for their residents. It was, needless to say, a lovely moment for our program.  On our cover, Brendan stands smiling with support from a standing wheelchair he received from our inventory. This year, as we again advocate for REquipment’s funding, we decided to follow up with Brendan’s mom, Kathy Bosworth, and learn the big picture of REquipment’s role in Brendan’s life.

Kathy, we soon learned, is one of REquipment’s biggest fans. She first discovered REquipment during the pandemic when Brendan’s customized power wheelchair broke, and replacing it was nearly impossible. No-contact orders exacerbated the usual vendor delays; residents at Brendan’s group home spent months in lockdown to reduce the risk of infection.

For more than a year, Brendan had only a manual wheelchair and was dependent on others to get around. Ultimately, it took three years for his insurance-provided chair to arrive. Luckily, REquipment gave him another option.

“Brendan got a new power chair [from REquipment], a brand new chair,” Kathy emphasizes. “And he used that chair for over a year.”

REquipment is the only reuse program in Massachusetts that refurbishes power wheelchairs, and every now and then, a power chair is donated to us that’s hardly been used at all. Specialized chairs can cost upwards of $60,000, and while Brendan’s “new” chair wasn’t customized for him, “It really did the trick while he waited,” Kathy relays with obvious pleasure.

Empowered, Kathy began keeping her eye out for more equipment in our online inventory. She also requested brochures to pass around and made sure the other parents in her Zoom groups knew about the kinds of devices they might find at no cost from us. “These are things insurance just doesn’t cover,” she observes.

Over the next three years, Kathy obtained a specialized manual chair that could lift Brendan to a standing position, a lightweight supportive manual chair, a portable ramp for accessing the yard off their back deck, and her favorite: “The Weekend Stroller.”

“That’s what we like to call it,” she says of the adult stroller that’s now essential to their family. “It’s lightweight and folds into our car. It’s so easy for us, and he can just relax in it. Every weekend we take him to Costco. If we miss a week, they’ll say, ‘Hey, Buddy! Where’ve you been?’ And the man driving the forklift, he’ll beep for him. Brendan loves that.”

Brendan wasn’t always so social. Before The Weekend Stroller, he was anxious about going out because he didn’t do it so routinely. “Now we can just take him for a walk around the neighborhood. He’s just more comfortable around people.”

Brendan turned 34 on July 5th.  For his birthday, Kathy held his annual BBQ. Brendan uses a manual wheelchair at home (from REquipment) because the manual chair fits easily through doorways. During his birthday parties, Brendan likes to be outside on the deck or inside playing music on his iPad. Because Kathy now has a ramp off the deck, he can join others on the grass, too. “He likes being there when other people are there,” she says.

This year, friends, family, and neighbors came to celebrate, including Sen. Walter Timilty.  The senator, Kathy says, knows him and always waves and beeps when he sees him outside. He also knows Brendan from the statehouse. When Kathy shared pictures for this story, we learned that Brendan and Kathy advocate for legislation important to individuals with disabilities.

Thank you, Kathy Bosworth and Brendan Cook. Your advocacy means the world to Massachusetts residents with disabilities. We’re so grateful Sen. Walter Timilty understands the powerful positive impact the REquipment program has had on Massachusetts families.

Last fiscal year, REquipment reassigned $2.2 million worth of durable home medical equipment to people who need it. 29 tons of DME were diverted from solid waste facilities. Yet our program is at risk.

Do you have a REquipment success story to share with your state representatives? Learn why our funding is on the line this year and send a message to the statehouse.

On Friday, July 7th, REquipment was delighted to host a site visit from State Senator Robyn Kennedy (Worcester). Sen. Kennedy, who co-chairs the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, visited our Worcester reuse site located within the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDS) Central MA administrative offices. We were thrilled to share with her our unique public/private collaboration with DDS, particularly as the legislature’s Conference Committee works to finalize the state budget.

REquipment refurbishes donated durable home medical equipment in a large Worcester warehouse space provided at no cost by DDS (an “in kind” contribution). Through our contracted funds, REquipment, in turn, provides staff, supplies, and other resources needed to refurbish and distribute durable medical equipment out into the community. REquipment is the only reuse program in Massachusetts to refurbish power wheelchairs, and the majority are worked on there. This past fiscal year, the Worcester site refurbished and delivered 877 pieces of equipment. In the coming year, this site will build capacity as we expand into assistive technology (AT) reuse to better support the needs of community members with disabilities.

At the warehouse, Sen. Kennedy also toured DDS’s AT Center. Here DDS fabricates and customizes equipment for DDS consumers and holds seating clinics. Sen. Kennedy learned how sharing a warehouse serves both DDS and REquipment. Our surplus parts are routinely put to work keeping DDS consumers mobile as they wait for vendor-provided repairs (an often months-long process). On one occasion, a complex rehab power wheelchair provided by REquipment was customized by the DDS AT Center for a DDS consumer’s unique needs. Reuse equipment is always provided faster than new equipment, and it can bridge an essential gap as people wait on vendors.

We hope that Senator Kennedy will take what she’s learned and advocate for us with the Conference Committee. Only the Senate’s FY 24 budget proposal includes $500K of annualized funding essential to our program. A cut of this magnitude would threaten REquipment’s ability to support safety at home, access to the community and generally ensure people stay in the driver’s seat of their lives.

We often hear from people looking for a scooter in our inventory. No wonder. Scooters can be great; they allow longer-distance travel if a user has trouble walking, assisting drivers in getting out into their community, running errands, and socializing.

But owning a scooter requires careful consideration. Before you take on equipment that may be hard to maneuver or care for, read on. Thank you, Dan Perkins, REquipment Program Director, for informing these scooter insights.

Do you know where you’ll store it?

Scooters cannot be stored outside. They require a dry heated environment.

Do you have a way to charge it?

Scooters must be plugged in each evening and unplugged each morning.

Can you transport it, if necessary?

Scooters are lighter than power wheelchairs, but they are still heavy. They require two batteries, each weighing over 30 lbs.

Will a scooter be comfortable for you?

Scooters do not provide postural support and cannot accept specialized cushions. They also require a driver with the strength and dexterity to steer and operate the controls.

Will a scooter help or harm your health?

Not everyone thrives using a scooter without postural support, and health issues may become exacerbated. Transitioning from walking to riding may also cause weight gain and a reduction in stamina.  Discuss any scooter plans with your physician or physical therapist.

If you’re a good scooter candidate, learn more about how to choose a suitable device. Download Considerations for Choosing a Scooter, recently revised for our website.

Do you have a scooter to donate? Please let us know. Scooters are often requested but infrequently donated. Be confident a scooter is suitable for you before removing one from our inventory. For the right person, they can be life-changing.

REquipment received a $50 online donation … “In memory of my dad, Harold Kams, who found independence and joy in his last year of life with the red scooter from REquipment.”

REquipment’s fiscal year 2022 (FY22) annual report is now available, and the numbers are impressive. The report is dedicated to our late program director, Jen Baker, who passed away at her desk in January 2022. However, it’s Dan Perkins, our current program director, who is the focus of this post.

REquipment provided 1,554 pieces of refurbished durable medical equipment valued at $2.2 million to Massachusetts residents in FY22. This is slightly more than what we reassigned in FY21 and 49% more than pre-pandemic 2019! We have our incredible team to thank, especially Program Director Dan Perkins.

We hired Dan in 2018 with thirteen years of experience working in the durable medical equipment (DME) and Assistive Technology field. He’d done everything from evaluating and configuring medical equipment to working as a delivery technician and a facilities manager. Dan stepped into Jen’s role after serving as donations coordinator.  His experience and accumulated knowledge of all things REquipment helped smooth this difficult time and transition. Thank you, Dan.

As proud as we are of our FY22 numbers and Dan’s leadership, we could help many more vulnerable Massachusetts residents if we could refurbish and deliver equipment more quickly. Our storage facilities are packed with donated DME; the bottleneck is the time it takes to evaluate, clean, sanitize, and deliver it.

Do you know someone who would like to make a difference by cleaning durable home medical equipment at our warehouse in Worcester? Who can drive a van and deliver devices from Worcester or Canton? Check out the six work opportunities currently posted at diligent-gray-hare.162-244-253-142.cpanel.site/. Also, read our annual report and learn how collecting donations and providing equipment brings relief and a sense of community to your neighbors.

We are so thankful to you—our supporters and service users—for supporting our efforts with funds, equipment donations, and simply getting the word out about REquipment so we can continue.

Your commitment to our mission is the best way you help us remember and honor Jen Baker.

Sincerely,

Karen Langley
President and CEO
REquipment, Inc.

It was a little after 8 am.a year ago today that I got a call to inform me that Jen had unexpectedly died. She was at her desk as she was early every day getting a start on the day.

Jen started working for REquipment, Inc. in February 2017 as the Program Coordinator, after having worked at the New England Assistive Technology Program Oak Hill, CT for 14 years. She came as our DME reuse program was in its infancy and with her experience, great organizational skills and passion for reuse she immediately was able to quickly establish processes and procedures to facilitate requests for equipment efficiently and provide the necessary reporting documentation for funders.

But Jen was not just about the paperwork. She was compassionate and cared a great deal about the people we serve. She worked with staff to expediate necessary documentation and personally picked up and delivered equipment when the individual’s need was great or immediate. She was also a great problem solver. Several years ago, when the online inventory host failed, she devised a way to handle requests with an offline spreadsheet method which enabled the program to continue for several months until the online solution was found. It was significantly more effort for her but meant people could still be served. During several months of the pandemic two of the four reuse sites were shut down. She worked closely with the remaining two to pick up the increased workload.

Jen was also a good listener. Her phone went on early, and she would take staff calls until the evening to problem solve or to lend an ear. I spoke to Jen almost every workday for 5 years. We provided each other a lot of peer support. Even when her plate was full, she offered to help others. That was in her DNA. Jen and husband Mark also supported the Enfield Police Department where Mark worked, hosting events for the police department staff, having an annual pig roast for friends and family at her home and available to help others in need. She was always generous of her time and spirit.

You might have realized by now that Jen took on much more work than was required or expected. Even when she and her husband visited their favorite place in St Martin in the summer, she worked a couple of hours a day so that people’s requests wouldn’t be held up for 3 weeks. She’d send pictures of herself sitting by the beach, with her toes in the water and an iPad on her lap working.

Jen was the glue that kept the day-to-day operation of the statewide DME Reuse Program together.

Last Spring, the REquipment, Inc. Board of Directors established a scholarship in her name, “The Jen Baker Memorial Scholarship” of $1000 to be awarded to a student from MA or CT pursuing a career in OT, PT or similar field with an emphasis on reuse. It is one way we can honor her memory as she was a lifelong learner.

So, a year has passed, and we pulled ourselves together to make the program work as Jen would have wanted us to do. We miss Jen every day, but her spirit carries us on.

Karen Langley
President/CEO
1/24/23

We need your support! REquipment DME is blessed with an abundance of equipment donations. Unfortunately, it’s forced us to put a hold on accepting new donations; something we don’t like to do. But we’re bursting at the seams and need more space! Currently we are renting 10 storage units and drop off space in New Bedford, E. Bridgewater, and Salem. Even with all these locations we’re still at full capacity.

We need to consolidate our 7 rental units in Worcester into a warehouse that also gives us additional room to grow.

The need has never been greater! We are averaging 7-8 requests every day for wheelchairs, bath seats, lifts, power wheelchairs, rollators and other needed equipment.

Since the Worcester Reuse site opening in October 2014, the small but dedicated staff have processed and delivered 5,919 pieces of refurbished equipment valued at $11.8m. They are the largest and most productive DME reuse site in the state.

We need your support to consolidate and expand our rental space into a warehouse in Worcester. Your generous donation will assist with heat, electricity, insurance, shelving, and other supplies.

We’ve set a goal of raising $25,000 to support this important consolidation and growth of storage. Won’t you donate to support our effort to ensure there is equipment for our neighbors and friends in need?

Donate today at www.dmereuse.org or send a check to REquipment, Inc., PO Box 311, Methuen, MA 01844.

Be part of the solution and thank you for your generous support!

REquipment staff, Dan and Jim, deliver wheelchair.

Did you make your donation to REquipment DME Reuse on Giving Tuesday?  If not, there is still time.

Giving Tuesday is a day when people reflect on the organizations they know, think about their impact, and choose those they want to support their mission through a financial donation. REquipment Durable Medical Equipment Reuse impacts the lives of people with disabilities, seniors, and their family members by providing free refurbished medical equipment. Last year we provided more than 1530 pieces of equipment; the most popular being manual wheelchairs, rollators, shower chairs and power wheelchairs, for people whose insurance would not cover the purchase, or they could not afford to buy.  Our equipment provided them with mobility in their home and community and the ability to perform self-care safely.

We recently received a card from the family of Tony from Springfield thanking us for the bariatric power wheelchair we provided him. His primary wheelchair was broken, and he did not have a back up.  Repairs often take several weeks. “You’ve given him his mobility back. We don’t know what we would have done without your kindness.” Tony’s story is like many people we serve who need a power wheelchair.  Last summer we were part of a larger community effort to assist Gene, a 93-year-old veteran and Orange resident, to stay in his home.  The community members volunteered their time and materials to build him a ramp, widen doorways, built raised garden beds and we provided the power wheelchair to get him access in and out of his home. Gene was very pleased with the wheelchair. “This thing’ll stop on a dime and give you 9 cents’ change,’ he said while taking the wheelchair for a spin. ‘It’s quite a unit, no two ways about it,’ he told a local reporter.

Won’t you consider REquipment for a tax-deductible donation on this Giving Tuesday? Checks can be mailed to REquipment, PO Box 311, Methuen, MA 01844 or donations through our secure web portal at www.dmereuse.org.