Bellingham Wheelchair Warehouse – Medical Equipment for Loan
When I needed a wheelchair recently I discovered that Bellingham has a wheelchair loaning service. The Bellingham Wheelchair Warehouse run by the Lions Club. It’s a great service that offers loaner wheelchair’s and medical supplies the Community. Since that day I borrowed the chair I’ve been volunteering there every Thursday morning. It Is amazing how many people use the service every week.
The items they loan aside from wheelchairs are walkers, crutches, canes, knee scooters, shower chairs, commodes and a variety of other medical equipment. The public can borrow the equipment for up to three months at a time. People using the equipment come for a variety of reasons from surgeries and sprains, to people in need of equipment while Medicare or their insurance approves them acquiring their own equipment, to visitors to Bellingham that couldn’t bring a wheelchair with them. Every week people come to get things for themselves and their friends and family members as well as social workers and nurses borrowing equipment for their patients. All of the equipment is donated, people bringing in all sorts of things.I even saw somebody bring in about a dozen packages of adult diapers today and somebody picked up most of them right away saying they had a relative who needed them and it would save them quite a bit of money. It’s not uncommon for 50 people to come through the door, each day either checking out or returning things. The reusable equipment is all steam cleaned before it is loaned out to the public and each time it is returned.
Some weeks the warehouse is packed with chairs while others there aren’t many to choose from. Besides steam cleaning equipment the guys in the shop also make repairs when they can. It is all done on a donation basis. Is a really wonderful service and the public is really grateful for it. It’s always great to hear people so thankful that we are there to offer that service, and it feels good to be part of a group offering these things to those in need.
The Al Boe Wheelchair Warehouse is located at 4141 Maplewood Ave and is open Monday and Thursday from 9 to 11:30 am. You can find me there Thursday mornings.