After three years of successfully serving Appalachian Eastern Kentucky, Project CARAT (Coordinating and Assisting the Reuse of Assistive Technology) is expanding statewide to help people with disabilities who cannot afford durable medical equipment (DME) or assistive technology.
In addition to the original locations in Hazard and Thelma, Project CARAT has added sites in Louisville and Paducah to collect, clean, repair and redistribute medical equipment and assistive technology to Kentuckians who need it but do not have insurance or funds to pay for it.
The new sites are located at EnTech at Spalding University at 812 S. Second Street, in Louisville, and Lourdes Hospital at 911 Joe Clifton Drive in Paducah.
“We are excited about expanding coverage to all of Kentucky ,” said Dave Matheis, Program Planning and Development Branch manager at the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). “Project CARAT has helped so many people in Eastern Kentucky who do not have insurance or resources to buy medical equipment such as wheelchairs, shower chairs and hospital beds to lead safer, more independent lives.”
The first locations opened in 2012 at the University of Kentucky’s Physical Therapy Program at the Center for Rural Health in Hazard and the Carl D. Perkins Assistive Technology Resource Center in Thelma. Since that time, Project CARAT has provided more than 700 pieces of free equipment valued at over $298,000 to more than 300 individuals with disabilities.
The centers in Louisville and Paducah have developed a network of providers and volunteers who donate devices or identify and collect unused assistive technology and DME. The providers also recondition and refurbish the equipment to make it suitable for use; and redistribute the equipment to individuals who need it and are unable to acquire it otherwise.
“Project CARAT is a tremendous resource and savings for people with disabilities or chronic health problems and their caregivers and families,” said Matheis.
In Louisville, Spalding University is housing the center and its occupational therapy students are volunteering their services while learning how to repair and clean donated devices.
In Paducah, Lourdes Hospital has donated renovated space for volunteers to operate the center. The Center for Accessible Living in Murray is assisting with this site’s implementation. Students from West Kentucky Community and Technical College are staffing the center.
“Project CARAT is a tremendous resource and savings for people with disabilities or chronic health problems and their caregivers and families,” Dave Matheis Program Planning and Development Branch manager at the Kentucky OVR.
“It also gives students valuable learning experiences in their fields of study. And it keeps medical equipment that could be reutilized from ending up in the garbage because people don’t know what to do with it when they don’t need it anymore.”
The equipment offered and needed for donation at the sites include Hoyer Lifts, shower chairs, toilet chairs, manual and power wheelchairs, power scooters, and hospital beds. Also needed are lift chairs, rollator walkers, stair lifts, canes, bed rails, standers, crutches and portable ramps for wheelchairs, augmentative communication devices, exercise equipment, environmental controls and hearing aids.
Funding for the program is through the Kentucky Assistive Technology Services (KATS) Network in OVR.
It is a collaboration of several partners including the Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN), the Bluegrass Technology Center (BTC), the University of Kentucky Division of Physical Therapy. Other partners include Lourdes Hospital, Enabling Technologies (enTECH) of Kentuckiana at Spalding University, West Kentucky Community and Technical College and KATS.
“We appreciate all the volunteers and organizations that donate, collect, recycle and distribute the equipment,” Matheis said. “The benefits to everyone involved are well worth the effort.”
The program began with a federal grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a rural health care outreach program in Eastern Kentucky. The $450,000 grant provided funding over three years for Project CARAT to purchase equipment to sanitize and repair medical devices, and set up a distribution network.
Find more information about donating or receiving equipment at the centers, contact Shelia Levy 1-800-327-5287 or click here .
Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet