Loan closet

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A loan closet is a program that allows people to borrow durable medical equipment and home medical equipment at no cost or at low cost. [1] The loan closet may be offered through an organization, an individual, or some other entity, often a non-profit organization. Because medical equipment is expensive and often needed for only a short time, loan closets help people receive equipment that they may not otherwise be able to afford.

Durable medical equipment is any medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of living. It is a benefit included in most insurances. In some cases certain Medicare benefits, that is, whether Medicare may pay for the item. The item is defined by Title XIX for Medicaid:

This article discusses the definitions and types of home medical equipment (HME), also known as durable medical equipment (DME), and durable medical equipment prosthetics and orthotics (DMEPOS).

Contents

Process

Typically a loan closet receives donated equipment from people who no longer need it. The loan closet will then clean and check the equipment and make it available to another person. Depending on the particular loan closet, the equipment may be loaned out for a set period of time, for as long as the person needs it or, in some cases it may be given away. When the equipment is returned, it is cleaned again and checked for safety and is then made available for the next person. The medical equipment available varies from one loan closet to another.

Clients

The requirements to use a loan closet vary. Some loan closets are only available to certain groups of people such as senior citizens or veterans. Others may only serve people with a particular disease or condition, such as ALS, multiple sclerosis, cancer, or cerebral palsy. A person may also need to reside in a particular geographical area, belong to a certain organization, or have an income below a certain level.

Multiple sclerosis disease that damages the myelin sheaths around nerve axons

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental, and sometimes psychiatric problems. Specific symptoms can include double vision, blindness in one eye, muscle weakness, trouble with sensation, or trouble with coordination. MS takes several forms, with new symptoms either occurring in isolated attacks or building up over time. Between attacks, symptoms may disappear completely; however, permanent neurological problems often remain, especially as the disease advances.

Cancer disease of uncontrolled, unregulated and abnormal cell growth

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss and a change in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.

Cerebral palsy A group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, and behavior. It results from damage to the fetal or infant brain.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. Often, babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl or walk as early as other children of their age. Other symptoms include seizures and problems with thinking or reasoning, which each occur in about one third of people with CP. While symptoms may get more noticeable over the first few years of life, underlying problems do not worsen over time.

Sponsors

Loan closets may be sponsored by churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, senior centers, or fire stations. An individual may also loan out medical equipment on an informal basis. There are many non-profit organizations whose sole purpose is to loan out home medical equipment to those in need.

Synagogue Jewish or Samaritan house of prayer

A synagogue, is a Jewish or Samaritan house of worship.

Mosque Place of worship for followers of Islam

A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims.

Temple structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. It is typically used for such buildings belonging to all faiths where a more specific term such as church, mosque or synagogue is not generally used in English. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism among religions with many modern followers, as well as other ancient religions such as Ancient Egyptian religion.

Contributions

Loan closets are dependent on contributors for the equipment which they lend out. Loan closets can be found through social workers, hospital discharge staff, and physicians' offices. Not all loan closets accept all donations and arrangements may need to be made in advance before donations are accepted. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Brain death is the complete loss of brain function. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some autonomic functions remain. It is also distinct from an ordinary coma, whether induced medically or caused by injury and/or illness, even if it is very deep, as long as some brain and bodily activity and function remains; and it is also not the same as the condition known as locked-in syndrome. A differential diagnosis can medically distinguish these differing conditions.

Jumble sale a free-for-all market, generally on a specific day or days or at a specific place where no taxes are collected on sales

A jumble sale, bring and buy sale or rummage sale is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, or church, as a fundraising or charitable effort. A rummage sale by a church is called a church sale or white elephant sale, frequently as part of a church bazaar.

Body donation

Body donation, anatomical donation, or body bequest is the donation of a whole body after death for research and education. Donated bodies are mostly used for medical education and research. They are used for gross anatomy, surgical anatomy and for furthering medical education. For years, only medical schools accepted bodies for donation, but now private programs also accept donors. Depending on the program's need for body donation, some programs accept donors with different specifications.

Spastic diplegia, historically known as Little's disease, is a form of cerebral palsy (CP) that is a chronic neuromuscular condition of hypertonia and spasticity—manifested as an especially high and constant "tightness" or "stiffness"—in the muscles of the lower extremities of the human body, usually those of the legs, hips and pelvis. Doctor William John Little's first recorded encounter with cerebral palsy is reported to have been among children who displayed signs of spastic diplegia.

Paralympic sports

The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2016, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 526 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 72 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.

Textile recycling method of reusing or reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and rags

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International Medical Equipment Collaborative

International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC) is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that provides medical equipment to doctors and nurses working hospitals and clinics in impoverished areas worldwide. IMEC is in North Andover, Massachusetts, United States, where volunteers sort, repair, package and ship donated medical supplies and equipment to international medical personnel. Through partnerships with various humanitarian organizations IMEC has been delivering medical supplies for 14 years. IMEC is known for providing medical supplies that doctors request for their patients.

A standing wheelchair is assistive technology, similar to a standing frame, that allows a wheelchair user to raise the chair from a seated to a standing position. The standing wheelchair supports the person in a standing position and enables interaction with people and objects at eye level.

HIT Humanitarian is a 501(c)3 charitable organization established in 2009 by Heritage Internet Technologies (HIT), a Utah-based IT/web-hosting company. It was formed in response to donations being made by the company and its employees to support humanitarian efforts around the globe. The organization's primary purpose is to provide funding and resources to communities and organizations in effort to reduce malnutrition and disease, develop clean-water and clean-energy sources, build educational and health-care infrastructure, and encourage self-sustaining practices. HIT Humanitarian also provides deeply discounted web design services for non-profit, charitable, and other organizations that offer beneficial services to their communities.

Management of cerebral palsy

Over time, the approach to cerebral palsy management has shifted away from narrow attempts to fix individual physical problems – such as spasticity in a particular limb – to making such treatments part of a larger goal of maximizing the person's independence and community engagement. Much of childhood therapy is aimed at improving gait and walking. Approximately 60% of people with CP are able to walk independently or with aids at adulthood. However, the evidence base for the effectiveness of intervention programs reflecting the philosophy of independence has not yet caught up: effective interventions for body structures and functions have a strong evidence base, but evidence is lacking for effective interventions targeted toward participation, environment, or personal factors. There is also no good evidence to show that an intervention that is effective at the body-specific level will result in an improvement at the activity level, or vice versa. Although such cross-over benefit might happen, not enough high-quality studies have been done to demonstrate it.

Spastic cerebral palsy type of cerebral palsy characterized by increased muscle tone

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Para-alpine skiing classification is the classification system for para-alpine skiing designed to ensure fair competition between alpine skiers with different types of disabilities. The classifications are grouped into three general disability types: standing, blind and sitting. Classification governance is handled by International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing. Prior to that, several sport governing bodies dealt with classification including the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMWSF), International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA). Some classification systems are governed by bodies other than International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing, such as the Special Olympics. The sport is open to all competitors with a visual or physical disability. It is not open to people with intellectual disabilities.

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Spastic Society of Gurgaon organization

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Assisted feeding

Assisted feeding, also called hand feeding or oral feeding, is the action of a person feeding another person who cannot otherwise feed themselves. The term is used in the context of some medical issue or in response to a disability, such as when a person living with dementia is no longer able to manage eating alone. The person being fed must be able to eat by mouth, but lacks either the cognitive or physical ability to self-feed. Individuals who are born with a disability like cerebral palsy, or arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) may be unable to feed themselves. Also, those who acquire a disability due to an accident or a disease like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may require hand feeding because they may become unable to pick-up and bring food to their own mouth. Guidance about safely assisting people to eat can be found at the Feeding the Disabled website.

The Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme was introduced in 2002 by the then Labour government to support grass roots sport. The original legislation was drafted by Andrew Phillips. It recognises the importance of sport in the community by allowing local amateur sports clubs to register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as a sports club rather than a business for rates and tax purposes. As such, clubs can benefit from a range of tax reliefs, including Gift Aid and rate relief. Both property and non-property owning clubs can significantly benefit from the scheme.

Ottawa Tool Library

Ottawa Tool Library (OTL) is a not for profit tool lending public library system based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Tool libraries loan specialized tools for both experienced and inexperienced community members who are interested in home repair, maintenance, building projects, community projects, gardening and landscaping as well as cooking. The OTL offers standard, group, individual and gift memberships.

The 3000 Club

The 3000 Club is a Phoenix-based charity which works with food banks in Arizona in order to reduce food waste. The 3000 Club's main program is known as Market on the Move, although the organization provides other services for Arizona communities. Their mission statement is "Providing life saving fresh fruits and vegetables to impoverished families."

References

  1. "About Great Lakes Loan Closets". Great Lakes Loan Closets. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. "How to Donate Medical Equipment". Great Lakes Loan Closets. Retrieved 19 July 2013.