I felt lost. I did not know what to do.

Martha's Story

Martha is an active 72 year old woman. A retired administrative assistant, she enjoys gardening and watching her grandchildren on the weekends. A few months ago Martha suffered from a stroke which left her partially immobilized. Martha received excellent care while at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, and was enrolled in therapy sessions at the Outpatient Rehab Center to work on regaining some functionality and mobility, especially in her legs. Leaving the hospital was a big worry for Martha. Would she be able to continue to watch her grandchildren? Would her garden fall apart without her watchful care? How could she manage daily life when things as simple as walking and writing had become a challenge?

Before leaving Cookeville Regional, Martha’s care giver provided her with a list of equipment which would be helpful to her at home over the coming months including a rolling walker, quad cane, shower chair, and several other devices. After finding that insurance would not cover the expense of these items, her case manager helped Martha review her finances. The short answer was these items would be out of Martha’s ability to afford on her own. She felt lost. What would she do?

Situations like this happen all too frequently. Residents from our community suffer an unexpected medical emergency and find themselves needing equipment for use at home that is beyond their means. For this reason, the Cookeville Regional Charitable Foundation has established a Donated Medical Equipment Program. The program collects new and gently used durable medical equipment and then passes items on free-of-charge to patients in need, like Martha.

The Foundation is collects items like: wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches, hospital or mechanized beds, reaching aids, tub benches, safety frames, specialty vehicles, scooters, and other devices in good condition. If you have a medical device in good condition that is no longer needed, please consider donating the item to the Foundation to help patients like Martha.