By Kate Scriven
Where can you get a wheelchair? Do you know where to purchase a shower bench? How much does a walker cost? These are questions that most of us don’t ever have to think about, thankfully. However, for many Thurston County residents experiencing illness, injury or age-related decline, these are very real and immediate questions demanding answers.
Unfortunately, the cost of a wheelchair or walker can be prohibitive. Even supplies for daily care – bandages, diabetic testing kits, bladder care supplies – can break the budget. But the need doesn’t go away just because there are no funds.
Enter the Thurston County Medical Equipment Bank. The local non-profit, run by volunteers, fills the needs of our community’s elderly and sick who cannot afford the basic supplies and equipment needed for daily comfort.
The Medical Equipment Bank was started in the early 1980s as an informal collection of used equipment by senior service workers. As the “piles” in the corners of their offices grew, the time to formalize the lending of equipment had come. The Senior Providers, an informal group working together to help seniors, acquired a donated storage unit and began to facilitate the lending of equipment. When the rental unit price increased, the program looked doomed to fade away.
Then, Rick Crawford stepped in. The long-time director of the Thurston Mason Senior News took the Bank under his wing and formalized it into a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The bank continued working out of storage facilities for a short while but the effort to haul all the equipment in and out for people to see was too much.
Tim Burgman, owner of Woodlawn Funeral Home, Cemetery, & Cremation, heard of the Medical Equipment Bank’s need for space and offered the group use of the basement of his funeral home for their service. The 1,200 square foot Lacey facility works perfectly, allowing space to sort supplies and equipment and allow for a small repair area as well. With this space, the MEB has been able to expand its inventory, serving even more of Thurston County’s needy.
Currently, the Medical Equipment Bank is run by a volunteer base of over 25 people, all senior citizens, who donate their time each week answering phone calls, collecting and repairing equipment and staffing the bank during its open hours. The volunteer army has been led by Mike Kelley for the past three years. His wife, Lorraine, answers phone messages and together the duo coordinate donations, repair, and lending of the equipment.
The range of available items is impressive. Wheelchairs, walkers, canes, benches and stools, portable lavatories, crutches, scooters, braces, C-PAP machines and hospital beds are all examples of equipment the bank has available. In addition, the shelves of the bank are lined with bandages, Depends, diabetic test supplies, wound care, masks and gloves. All items are available to borrow (consumables excluded) during a time of need and the bank asks for the equipment to be returned when no longer needed.
With very few exceptions, people honor the borrow-and-return policy. The amazing fact is that the Medical Equipment Bank requires no proof of need, no pre-qualification. If someone arrives at the bank and asks for help, it is given, no questions asked.
Those served by the bank vary widely. Caregivers of the elderly network among themselves, visiting the bank to borrow and return items as the needs of their patients change. Family members caring for a sick loved one come to seek help with daily needs. Hospice workers know to turn to the bank when a family is struggling with end of life care. Parents stop in for crutches when their child has an unexpected injury in sports. People borrow a walker or wheelchair for grandpa’s spring break visit. No one is turned away, no need is gone untended.
Lorraine Kelly shared, “Just last week we served over 40 people on Saturday. Families, kids, caregivers all came looking for help and we were able to give almost everyone what they needed.”
How does a service like this sustain itself? Simply through the generosity of our community. The bank is stocked entirely on donations and word of mouth. Mike Kelly writes a monthly article in the Thurston Mason Senior News sharing about the work of the bank and the group has an online presence on Facebook in addition to their website. A tight network of caregivers helps share the bank’s mission and needs and the group is affiliated with the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging, a wide network sharing their needs and offerings throughout the county.
Joan Hitchens, a local grief coach and founder of Navigating Grief shares, “Donating equipment and unused supplies after the death of a loved one can be very healing for those dealing with loss. Knowing that something positive can come from the ‘things’ that are left after someone dies can be a powerful action step for someone who is grieving.” Hitchens knows this first hand after losing her husband to cancer. Doing something positive – clearing the medical clutter from her home, giving it to someone in need – was a clear step for her towards healing.
For more information about the Thurston County Medical Equipment Bank visit their website or call the message line at 360-456-8810. Donations of equipment, supplies or cash are always needed to help keep the bank’s shelves stocked for those in need.
Thurston County Medical Equipment Bank
5930 Mullen Rd. SE
Lacey, WA 98503
Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Saturday from 10-11 am
Closed All Major Holidays
Phone: (360) 491-3000
