Five Quick Arguments for AT Reuse

Why is the reuse of assistive technology a great idea?


1. It provides devices to people who are uninsured or underinsured.


Wheelchairs in closets, text-to-speech programs on the shelf, walkers piled high at the local salvage yard, bariatric devices in the garage after the original user lost the desired 250 pounds, old prescription eyeglasses, the computer abandoned for a newer model, the cell phone that isn't the latest and greatest. These devices are the reality of our daily lives -- unused assistive technology that could help someone participate in the activities of daily life, whether work, learning, play or family. Many people do not have insurance coverage or money to acquire the AT they need.


2. Even those who have access to funding may need an interim solution.


How long might a person wait for private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid to approve and provide a needed AT device? Wouldn't it be great to borrow a device from a reuse program until the permanent device becomes available?


3. Reuse is a "green" idea.

Reusing assistive technology keeps devices out of landfills. That saves taxpayer money and ultimately reduces the impact on the environment. It reduces the "carbon footprint" of the industries that need to keep making more AT devices. It saves resources for future use.

4. Reuse can reduce healthcare costs.

Reusing those lightly-used devices can keep down the cost of healthcare provided through taxpayer dollars. This is not to argue that people should not get new devices, but that there is a role for reuse in the process. Many AT devices are needed only for a short period of time to assist in recovery from injury or illness.

5. Reusable devices can be a blessing in disasters.

Sometimes disasters require evacuation so quickly that an invidual cannot bring the equipment. Sometimes it is damaged in a disaster. Sometimes disasters cause injuries that result in the need for assistive technology for more people. That can be true here or elsewhere.

Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (Stone Mountain, Georgia) collaborated with Port Light Strategies (South Carolina) to fill the wish lists of people running field clinics in Haiti after the earthquake of 2010. Instead of random shipments, workers in Haiti identified the durable medical equipment and supplies needed and FODAC worked with Port Light volunteers to pack refurbished equipment to meet those needs.