UD and Goodwill make access to equipment easier for those in need

10:33 a.m., Aug. 4, 2011--Acquiring affordable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, just became easier for Delawareans with disabilities.  A reuse store, operated by Goodwill with support from University of Delaware’s Center for Disabilities Studies, opened this week in Wilmington.

The store sells gently used items including hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, commode chairs and crutches. A UD-led committee engineered the retail outlet as the solution to problems of access and excess. 

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“You probably know somebody who has medical equipment around their house after an illness, who no longer needs it, but doesn’t know how to get rid of it,” said Beth Mineo, director of the Center for Disabilities Studies. 

Goodwill Industries of Delaware and Delaware County employs individuals with intellectual disabilities to clean and sanitize the donated items before making them available to Delawareans with disabilities that are uninsured or whose insurance will not cover needed items.  Mineo describes the prices as “dramatically reduced from retail.”

The reuse program keeps the items out of landfills while filling a need.  

“This initiative has multiple benefits to the community we serve,” said Colleen Morrone, Goodwill’s chief mission officer.

The planning and establishment of the store was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration.  UD chose Goodwill to handle the operation because the program’s mission aligned with Goodwill’s own focus.

“They have the perfect network,” Mineo said. “They have locations all over Delaware; they are already in the reuse business.  This just adds a new dimension to what they’re already doing.”

Goodwill accepts donations at all of its area locations for the durable medical equipment refurbishment initiative and sells the items at its dedicated storefront located at 311 East Lea Boulevard, Wilmington.  

Article by Andrea Boyle