New Medical Equipment Loan Center Now Open
New Medical Equipment Loan Center Now Open
Bob McCarthy Foundation and Interfaith Caregivers Aim to Make Home Health Care Easier
L to R: Andy Beneng and Julie Hall of Interfaith Caregivers officially cut the ribbon on the new Medical Equipment Loan Center with Mayor John Burrell and the Bob McCarthy Foundation’s Greg Cappelli. Photos / ellicottvilleNOW
In case you haven’t heard, Ellicottville now has a Medical Equipment Loan Center located at 17 Mill Street, right in the DPW Annex across from Fitzpatrick & Weller. The official ribbon cutting ceremony was held last Thursday afternoon and ellicottvilleNOW was there to witness the momentous occasion.
Let’s talk about how this all began. The Bob McCarthy Foundation spent the past year working on establishing a seniors help program here in town. Kathleen Moriarty, member of the Bob McCarthy Foundation said, “We have met with many organizations and individuals to understand the current services provided and the real needs in our community.”
Those critical needs range from easier transportation, Internet access and support with the technology, more help for the hearing and sight impaired and medical equipment. So the foundation got down to investigating how to make these things happen and the search led them straight to Interfaith Caregivers Inc., a 501c3 Foundation based in Olean, NY. They offer all of these services to community members in Allegany, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties. And with their ever-widening net, Interfaith was actually looking to expand their services via a satellite location in Cattaraugus County.
This created a perfect partnership opportunity. Interfaith has been providing their services for over 40 years and they had all the logistics and systems in place to make the program roll out in town easily. Executive Director Julie Hall expressed, “Ellicottville truly is the perfect location.”
In December of 2023, after many an in-depth conversation, the Bob McCarthy Foundation approached Ellicottville Mayor John Burrell about using a vacant office in the local DPW building. The Mayor, recognizing all of the benefits this endeavor offered, brought it before the Village Board who unanimously endorsed it. After some cleaning and remodeling (helped along by Mark Chudy and the local DPW crew), Interfaith supplied all of the loan equipment and supplies to make sure that the soft opening saw the center fully stocked and ready to service the community.
What are these services we keep referencing? In the medical equipment category: wheelchairs, walkers, diabetic socks, crutches, cleaning/wound care supplies, even a home hospital bed. (And though the satellite center is small, items can be acquired from the larger facility in Olean as needed.) They offer financial support for those who need glasses, eye exams and visual aids. They also provide telephone reassurance and advocacy referrals for lonely and/or homebound residents in the community not otherwise served. And all of their services are FREE of charge, thanks to the generous contributions of their donors.
The Bob McCarthy Foundation held their soft opening of the new Medical Equipment Loan Center last Thursday, March 21st, as close to St. Patrick’s Day as possible to honor Bob McCarthy’s legacy. Currently the center will only be open on Thursdays from 9:00am-12:00pm as it is operating on a fully volunteer basis. Operationally, Interfaith Caregivers will handle all incoming calls, client evaluations, equipment recommendations, and will set up appointments for pick-up at either location.
On that note, the Bob McCarthy Foundation will be holding a volunteer social at the Ellicottville Town Center on April 26th from 4:00-7:00pm to offer information on the group’s volunteer needs, programs and future goals. And those goals are many! There are plans, working with the Ellicottville Memorial Library, to utilize a computer room to offer a place for the elderly or impaired to learn how to better access the Internet, fill out forms, etc., along with plans to add on an RSVP transportation service once a volunteer network is put into place.
You can help them meet these goals by volunteering, donating or referring someone you think might be interested in volunteering. If you can’t attend the April 26th social, you can contact any Bob McCarthy Foundation board member or visit bobmccarthyfoundation.com or interfiathcaregivers.com.