Red Cross opens another health equipment loan depot in P.E.I.
Wheelchairs and other aids available to Islanders recovering from illness or injury
A new depot in St. Peters Bay will make it easier for residents of eastern P.E.I. to access free wheelchairs and other health-care aids.
It's part of a program run by the Canadian Red Cross to help Islanders recovering from an illness or injury. Last fall, a similar depot opened at the O'Leary Community Hospital.
The Health Equipment Loan Program — or HELP — provides loans of wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, bath transfer seats, bath and bed safety rails, commodes and other medical equipment. There's no charge but clients must have a written referral from a health professional. The Red Cross welcomes financial donations to offset maintenance costs.
The P.E.I. government committed $200,000 in its 2014-15 budget to help the Red Cross expand the program with a larger inventory of equipment, more storage and maintenance capacity and a delivery van, and $150,000 annually to offset operating costs including salaries of a Charlottetown-based administrator and an equipment technician.
The St. Peters Bay depot, at 1968 Cardigan Rd., is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is operated by volunteers.
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