Find a Medical Loan Closet
Here are a few ways to find a medical loan closet near you. Medical equipment loan closets are not available in every community so you may have to travel to the nearest location. You will need transportation to pick up your medical equipment or supplies. You can decide whether to buy medical equipment or find the nearest loan closet.
Search Online
One of the fastest ways to find a medical loan closet program near you is to search the web. Here are some suggested keywords to use while searching:
“Medical loan closet in your city name/county name/zip code”
“Medical equipment lending closet in your city name/county name/zip code”
“Medical supplies loan closet in your city name/county name/zip code”
Questions to Ask
Check our blog post here about specific questions to ask when seeking medical equipment, medical aids, or supplies.
Call First
As a rule of thumb, ALWAYS call the Medical Loan Closet or Medical Equipment Lending Closet Program office FIRST, to find out if 1) you or your loved one qualifies to borrow equipment on a temporary basis; 2) you need an appointment; 3) your equipment inventory is available; 4) what documentation you may need to bring including a prescription from your doctor; 5) any related costs such as a fee, deposit or other; 6) to find the hours of operation
Ask Your Primary Care Provider
Your primary care provider (doctor) is a great source for everything related to your health. Please ask for a referral to a medical lending closet program. Usually, most area medical loan closets establish a partnership with local medical providers to inform them about the services available at the medical loan closet. Ask your primary care provider for more information about available medical lending closets that may be able to assist you with your specific medical equipment needs.
Medical Loan Closet as Church Ministry
Your local church or place of worship can help you find a medical loan closet. There are many churches who actually operate a medical loan closet as a church ministry. Most of the time it is run by volunteers and hours of operation and equipment inventory may be limited.
Contact your County’s Local United Way
United Way offers the 2-1-1 telephone referral service which can provide you with more information about a medical loan closet near you. You can call 2-1-1 or search online at www.211.org. The 2-1-1 service is a confidential and free service about local services in each unique community. This service is available seven (7) days per week, 24 hours per day.
By calling 2-1-1 or visiting the website, www.211.org online, you will be connected to a large database of local community resources of programs and services that can help you or your loved one. This may include finding a medical equipment loan closet in your area.
Medical Loan Closet as a Non-Profit Organization Program
Many nonprofit organizations offer a medical lending closet as one of their programs. A medical lending closet may also be a stand-alone brick-and-mortar organization. Depending on the nonprofit organization’s mission, the medical loan closet may focus on serving a population with a specific disability. An organization’s mission may focus on serving seniors, military veterans, or specific disabilities such as people suffering from spinal cord injuries and disorders. A program may also focus on serving low-income clients without general access to regular healthcare services. However, most medical loan closets usually serve the general community of people with a wide variety of disabilities or those unable to afford medical equipment expenses. You should still contact the organization to ask for a referral to a medical equipment loan program that can help meet your specific needs.
Use Local Search Ratings & Reviews
Online local search websites can help you find a nearby loan closet. Search results can include local charity-based medical equipment lending closets among other retailers. One of the websites you can use is Yelp.com. We recommend using this site over others because it is very easy to search and use. YELP: www.yelp.com
Who else can you call for more information about finding a local medical equipment lending closet near you?
Call Your City or County Senior Center or Disability Program Services
Your city or county staff can provide you with information about existing programs and services offered through your city, county, state or national level that serve seniors or people with disabilities. Even if government programs do not offer a medical equipment lending closet, they may be able to refer you to finding low-cost or free medical equipment or supplies.
Contact Your Representatives for Medical Loan Closet Information
We highly encourage you to contact your government representatives for all of your constituent questions about programs and services like medical equipment lending closets or low-cost or free medical equipment programs available to you or your loved one. If you have not had any luck finding a medical loan closet program near you, your government representatives have direct-line access to information that is helpful to their constituents. Even if they don’t have the information at their fingertips when you call them, more than likely, a staff member or intern will be eager to get back to you once they find the information for you. Hopefully, they will also note the value of medical loan closets in their community.
Contact your City Council: To find information about your local city council, you can visit The United States Conference of Mayors’ website at: https://www.usmayors.org/mayors/ and search for your mayor by entering your mayor’s name or city name. Select your mayor’s profile and click the “Website” link.
You can also easily search online for “Your City Name” City Council website
Contact your Board of Supervisors. To find information about your local county board of supervisors, you can visit USA.gov’s local government webpage at: https://www.usa.gov/local-governments
You can simply choose your state name, click “Go” and maps of your state and counties will appear. From here, you can select your county to get a list of names of your board of supervisors.
You can also easily search online for “Your County Name” Board of Supervisors website
Contact your Governor’s Office
https://www.usa.gov/state-governor
Contact your United States Representative
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
https://whoismyrepresentative.com/
Contact your Senator
https://whoismyrepresentative.com/
Still not sure if you should purchase from a retailer or borrow medical equipment from your local medical loan closet? See our blog post about tips on weighing which option may be best for you.