UNIVERSITY CITY 鈥 The progress Vernie Clark has made after a surgery-gone-bad last year is thanks to intense physical therapy, her husband鈥檚 devotion and her own stubborn persistence.
But Clark, of University City, also credits a local nonprofit that maintains warehouses full of used medical equipment with helping her 鈥 ever so slowly 鈥 regain her mobility.
鈥淎 godsend鈥 is how Clark, 66, describes , which collects donated wheelchairs and walkers 鈥 among other durable medical goods 鈥 and redistributes them to anyone in need, free of charge.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful thing,鈥 said executive director Karen Lanter. 鈥淣eighbor helping neighbor.鈥
The Olivette-based health equipment lending program has recently broadened its geographic footprint, adding six satellites to its two warehouses, putting it on pace to double the number of clients served four years ago. The demand is ceaseless: The population is aging. Chronic diseases are on the rise. And climbing costs and insurance red tape are making it more difficult to obtain devices that improve mobility and everyday functions.
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About 1 in 7 disabled adults report that they can鈥檛 access essential medical supplies, . Thrift stores, religious groups and nonprofits that serve specific populations, such as cancer patients, offer piecemeal assistance.
But St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP is the that is open to any age, income level or diagnosis. The 鈥渓ending program鈥 doesn鈥檛 require anything to be returned, though many people bring items back to be cleaned and distributed again.
The process is straightforward: Clients 鈥 the majority of whom are older than 65 鈥 fill out an online form. The nonprofit locates the requested equipment and prepares it for pickup or flags the request to be waitlisted.
The inventory is ever-changing. Shower chairs go quickly; crutches pile up. An office worker borrowed a commode after she had her hip and knee replaced. A 10-year-old found a gait trainer. A teenager has asked for a Sara Stedy, which assists in moving from a seated to a standing position.
And a woman from west St. 不良研究所导航网址 County nabbed a pressure cushion when her 96-year-old mother developed a bed sore.
鈥淚 thought that this was the most marvelous idea anyone had had in a very long time,鈥 said Kathy Schweitzer.
She gave it back 鈥 along with other supplies 鈥 after her mom died.
鈥楢n innovative approach鈥
St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP was founded in 2008 by Laura Cannon, who has since retired. She was reading a newspaper in the Fargo, North Dakota, airport. A local church was looking for volunteers to deliver donated wheelchairs to rural patients.
When Cannon returned to St. 不良研究所导航网址, she discovered there was no similar program here. So she started one.
Lanter took over almost three years ago, with the aim of making the process easier for both donor and recipient. In the past, St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP hosted a couple of collection drives each year. Pickups were available at their warehouses in Olivette and Crystal City.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 enough,鈥 Lanter said.
She studied a map and began contacting agencies that she thought could by donating space. Since April of last year, St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP has found nonprofit partners in south St. 不良研究所导航网址 County, St. Charles, and the north and south ends of St. 不良研究所导航网址. The most recent hub, at a church in High Ridge, was added in May.
Lanter has her eyes on the Metro East next. Her aim is that recirculating medical equipment will become as commonplace as using a library.
鈥淢y goal is where everybody says, 鈥榃e know where to donate this,鈥欌 said Lanter.
Though the most gratifying part for her is hearing stories of recovery or regained independence, the environmental benefits are impactful, too, Lanter said. St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP diverted 100 tons from the landfill in 2023. This year, it hit that benchmark by the end of August.
The nonprofit鈥檚 main source of funding comes from the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Jefferson Solid Waste Management District, which provided a $100,000 grant last year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an innovative approach. They really are the only ones doing this work with medical equipment,鈥 said Ian Ashcraft, a grants administrator with the waste management district. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a bunch of things they take that no one knows what to do with.鈥
More than 5,700 items were donated last year, twice as many as in 2019. The organization accepts shower and hygiene aids, such as grab bars and benches; hospital beds; unopened wound care and incontinence products; lifts; walkers; and wheelchairs. Things that aren鈥檛 in good enough shape to give away are often 鈥淔rankensteined鈥 for parts.
In the first half of this year, more than 1,300 people received equipment, a 24% increase over the same period last year.
鈥楨verything came crashing down鈥
Many mobility aids 鈥 like the Sara Stedy motorized sit-to-stand 鈥 aren鈥檛 covered by insurance or Medicaid. And even when they are, the wait for approval can be up to a year.
A child may have outgrown a wheelchair before it arrives, said Christina Rejko, a physical therapist at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in Maryland Heights.
Insurance is usually the first route for the families of patients Rejko treats, but 鈥渢here are so many rules,鈥 she said.
For younger children, the learning window for motor skills can close while parents jump through insurance hoops to apply for a standing frame or a gait trainer, devices that provide support to a person trying to stand or walk.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so much missed time,鈥 said Rejko. 鈥淚t鈥檚 critical.鈥
Usually, only a single piece of equipment will be covered, so if a patient hopes to eventually transition from a power wheelchair to a manual, for example, Rejko will try to locate one or the other at St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP.
Trial-and-error with loaned equipment can guide caregivers and therapists 鈥渢o adequately choose what will be best for the patient in the long term,鈥 Rejko said.
Adults also deal with variable needs as they recover. Clark, the back-surgery patient, expected a smooth recuperation from her laminectomy in February 2023.
But when she came out of anesthesia, she couldn鈥檛 move her left leg. She had a blood clot in each lung. She spent weeks in rehab. After Clark went home, she developed a bed sore that landed her in the hospital and through another round of rehab.
鈥淓verything came crashing down,鈥 Clark said.
Her Medicare plan paid for a walker, but she was on her own for everything else. St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP provided a transport chair that allows her to get to doctor鈥檚 appointments.
Thrice-weekly physical therapy has enabled Clark to advance to canes, supplemented with a rolling walker. All of it came from the nonprofit.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how much of a help they鈥檝e been,鈥 Clark said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to buy a piece of equipment I have no intention of continuing to use.鈥
In the past month, Clark has regained some feeling in her toes. She finally can get a bend in her knee.
Her next goal? Another visit to St. 不良研究所导航网址 HELP 鈥 to give everything back.