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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — From the moment doctors told her she needed extensive foot surgery, Prince George’s County resident Janice Joyner knew she would have to pay for more than one procedure.
He needed a mobility device for his recovery. However, Joyner said: health care could not afford the cost of the scooter.
“I was looking for some kind of equipment that could help me and I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it,” he said.
He said he came across the Maryland Durable Medical Equipment Reuse Program after a lot of Google searches.
This program provides Maryland residents with donated equipment—such as wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, scooters, and even sterilized and repaired pediatric equipment—for free.
Applicants do not need to meet any income requirements to purchase equipment.
According to the program’s website, Marylanders with any disability, illness, or injury can receive this equipment, regardless of age.
Joyner said she thought the show was too good to be true.
“At first I was skeptical (I wondered) ‘Why does this place offer free resources?’ said. “But everything there was true, and I was surprised.”
According to the 2019 Disability and Health Data report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disability healthcare costs in Maryland can reach up to $21,118 per person each year.
Joyner said that after a month and a half of mobility support, she plans to return her scooter to the program’s headquarters for another person to use.
“Previously, I could only take five steps to my bathroom and come back,” she said. “Having this scooter got me out of bed.”
Ten percent of Maryland adults have a mobility-related disability, according to the CDC report.
This makes it the highest reported disability among other types such as cognitive, self-care, and independent living.
Program Director Ian Edwards said that despite numerous attempts to raise awareness for this program, many people still don’t know it exists.
“We started something in January, but with fears of COVID, we weren’t really sure how the program would be perceived as it was the equipment used before,” he said.
After the majority of Marylanders received their vaccinations, Edwards said more equipment began to be made available to the public in March.
“We faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning,” he said. “But the equipment is here (now) and we have it ready for people who have no other way to get it.”
Edwards said the program has received more than 5,000 items since collections began.
He said that while the program is not currently offered, there are multiple satellite sites across the state where people can get equipment.
The program hosts 11 donation centers across the state, including three large landfills where people can leave equipment.
Edwards told Capital News Service that they have partnered with county landfills to install containers and raise awareness for the reuse program.
While the program serves to help residents, they also want to alleviate financial woes among other contributors, he said.
“Whether it’s the healthcare system, hospital providers, or even health care“said. “We hope to help them in any way we can if we can monetize them with the inventory we have now.”
Aging Minister Rona Kramer said Maryland is the first state to offer this statewide durable reuse program.
“There are very few programs in the country that are as wide-ranging,” he said. “We have the most sophisticated. We give people their lives back.”
More information about the program: https://aging.maryland.gov/pages/DME.aspx
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