Recently we were able to coordinate the donation of a wheelchair to a member of the HD community. It took the collaboration of HD Reach staff, HD community members, and other organizations to make it happen. Everyone worked together to bridge connections to ensure that the pt received the wheelchair.
The wheelchair was donated to HD Reach by a HD community member. HD Reach staff worked to match the wheelchair to an individual within the HD community in need of a wheelchair. A few weeks passed and I received a call from a local advocacy organization in the Raleigh area that was working with an HD patient in need of a wheelchair. I shared that HD Reach had an available wheelchair due to a gracious donation from a community member. Due to HIPPA, the advocacy organization could not release patient info, but it seemed that the individual was a match for the wheelchair. I began to work with the advocacy organization to coordinate the delivery of the wheelchair. Through the process I learned that the patient was located near the Tennessee border, and the chair was located in the Raleigh area. We began to brainstorm ways we could get this wheelchair to the patient. The advocacy organization was willing to travel ½ the distance to deliver the wheelchair. The donor was also willing to deliver the wheelchair within a local radius. We had finally matched the wheelchair to an individual with HD but now how could we get the wheelchair to the patient?
I began to brainstorm with the HD Reach team. It was brought to my attention that a staff member was attending an event in the Asheville, NC area which was about an hour from the pt. The HD Reach staff member was willing to assist with the delivery of the wheelchair! We just needed the pt to come pick it up in Asheville. I immediately reached out to the advocacy organization to tell her the good news, and she was able to get a release of info from the patient.
And guess what? The patient was already engaged with HD Reach and was familiar with HD Reach staff. WOW! What a coincidence! I reached out to the patient and her husband to inform them that HD Reach was the organization with the wheelchair to donate. They were so grateful for the collaboration of organizations and the connections in the HD community that made it possible for the pt to receive a wheelchair. The patient agreed to meet HD Reach staff to pick up the wheelchair.
The patient was able to receive the wheelchair in March! The patient was so appreciative of the donated wheelchair. It was a TEAM effort with collaboration of community members and organizations. And that’s what BRIDGING CONNECTIONS looks like!
