Shaler-based Blessing Board offers free durable medical equipment

An array of wheelchairs, walkers, shower seats and related items greeted visitors to the Blessing Board in Shaler for a Sept. 8 announcement.

“We’re collecting durable medical equipment, and then we’re giving it out to the people in need in Allegheny and surrounding counties,” Richard Garland, the nonprofit’s executive director, said.

The Blessing Board which started in a Penn Hills church in 2010, has a tradition of picking up and receiving donated furniture, appliances and household goods for distribution to people who need them, with more than 10,000 families so far, according to Garland.

In a cooperative effort with other volunteer-driven organizations, another category of items has been added to the mix.

Green Tree-based Global Links, which rescues surplus medical materials and shares them with public health facilities around the world, is among the partners in collection and distribution efforts.

“Why in the world do we need to do this? Why do we need to work together? It’s because all of the items you see here today keep people living in good health, independently, and they can live with dignity regardless of their income,” executive director Angela Garcia said. “All of these items that you see are generally not covered by Medicaid, or the co-pay is cost-prohibitive.”

Her organization supplies equipment to Chosen, a 53-year-old Erie nonprofit health care ministry that began distributing medical items in 2015, after receiving a series of requests along those lines.

“When we started this, we averaged 25 pieces of equipment a month, and primarily those equipment pieces were maybe a cane or a walker, or once in a while a wheelchair,” chief executive officer Rick King said. “Fast-forward to August of 2022: We are now putting out over 800 pieces a month, and that ranges anywhere from a reacher to a hospital bed and anything in between. And so the need continues to grow.”

Garcia introduced Garland to King, who provided guidance in getting the Blessing Board started with a similar endeavor.

“He blessed us with a wealth of knowledge,” Garland said.

Providing a connection to help reach as many people as possible is North Side Christian Health Center, which “provides health care for patients of all religions, all races, all sexualities, all regardless of citizenship status,” according to Bethany Blackburn, chief executive officer.

Services include primary care, pediatrics, dental and behavioral health care, regardless of insurance status and the patient’s ability to pay.

“In 2021, North Side Christian Health Center served over 4,000 patients. We had over 11,000 visits. Five-and-a-half percent of these patients were homeless. Eighteen percent live in public housing, and 11% were uninsured,” Blackburn said. “Our ability to help patients find durable medical equipment for their treatment and for their quality of life has been extremely challenging, until now. And that is why we’re so appreciative of the partnership with the Blessing Board.”

The partner organizations seek donations of durable medical equipment and, as always, volunteers to help with the philanthropic efforts.

For more information, visit:

• The Blessing Board, blessingboard.org.

• Global Links, globallinks.org.

• North Side Christian Health Center, www.nschc.org.

• Chosen, chosen210.com.