Edmund Eugene Duncan knows exactly how the costs related to durable medical equipment add up. “My wife was in a head-on collision and injured her left leg, right ankle, and damaged the vertebra in her neck.  She has been confined to a wheelchair ever since the accident.”

The hospitalist sent Eugene’s wife Kathy, known to her friends as “Dinks,” home with a wheelchair, a potty chair, and a shower chair. “They billed us a rental fee of 185 dollars a month.  Even though we returned them just days later we still had to pay that amount.”

Eugene said he was speaking to Leslie at the Hospice & Community Care Resale store, and Leslie told him that they had several wheelchairs if they needed one. “The hospital didn’t say anything about the costs, they just billed us.  So I spoke with Leslie and we got a wheelchair that was a much better quality.  Much nicer.”

“Hospice does a good job helping everyone. My father-in-law was served by Hospice at the Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House for over a month.  Because we were able to get this equipment from Hospice to help my wife, we are able to save a $185/month payment,” said Eugene.  “When you have hospital bills which keep coming in, that amount on top adds up to a lot.”

According to Eugene, Hospice and the Hospice Resale shop help a lot of people. “They are a great organization.  Anytime there is a need, Leslie gets something going.”

With her return appointments in June, and the possibility of multiple surgeries on the horizon, Eugene is incredibly grateful for the medical equipment to help Dinks.

Hospice & Community Care recognizes that there are hundreds of people like Dink in our community. People that need temporary use of durable medical equipment to help them through short-term illnesses or rehab. We are excited to announce the opening of The Caring Closet, a medical equipment loan closet. This volunteer-led effort will connect offer durable medical equipment free of charge to those in need in the communities that we serve. To read more about The Caring Closet, including hours of operation and how to donate gently-used medical equipment click HERE.