Whoever said that nothing in life is free hasn’t heard about the medical lending closets in Naperville and Lisle Township. These lending closets come in handy if you have any of these three situations: a scheduled surgery such as knee, hip or shoulder; a broken bone due to an accident or a house guest like an older relative or friend who has mobility issues. Some insurance companies cover medical equipment, but many are now requiring patients to acquire their own equipment.
Although some equipment might be inexpensive like a cane, others like wheelchairs, knee scooters and iceman machines are not. Recently, a friend of mine missed a step going into her basement and broke an ankle and several other bones. I told her husband about the ability to borrow needed equipment for post-surgery recuperation and he was thankful for the information.
I thought I would share with my readers in case they or someone they know could use this information too! If you have equipment to donate, please clean it first, make sure it is smoke free and call ahead to see if the closet is taking it before donating.
Most residents of Naperville live in Naperville, Lisle or Wheatland Townships. You must live in Naperville Township in order to use their medical lending closet. Wheatland Township does not have a lending closet so those residents should go to Lisle Township which probably has the biggest storage area, too. Equipment such as walkers, rollators, shower benches/chairs, canes, crutches, walking boots and knee scooters are available to be borrowed for up to 90 days with renewal if needed.
The Lisle Park District Senior Center has much of the same equipment as the Naperville & Lisle Township, and it also offers raised toilet seats with handrails and freestanding commodes. Equipment may be reserved if you know the date of your surgery ahead of time.
NAPERVILLE TOWNSHIP MEDICAL EQUIPMENT CLOSET / 139 Water St., Naperville, (630) 355-2786, M-F 9AM to 3PM. Current Needs – Canes.
LISLE TOWNSHIP MEDICAL EQUIPMENT CLOSET / 4711 Indian Ave. Lisle; Ruby Smith, (630) 968-2087, M-F 8:30AM to 4PM. Current Needs – Shower chairs.
LISLE PARK DISTRICT SENIOR CENTER / 1925 Ohio St., Lisle, Call Debbie Breihan (630) 353-4344 or (630) 964-3410, M-F 8AM to 4:30PM. Current Needs – Iceman continuous cold therapy machines for post-surgery pain and swelling relief.
If you have friends or family in other Chicagoland cities, check Elderwerks.org for locations of other Medical Lending Closets. If you have equipment like hospital beds or equipment that the local closets can’t take, check Devices4thedisabled.org to get information on donating to them.
