Reader Angela asked me for help via the BargainBabe.com Facebook page.
Any advice on where to find inexpensive home health care products, i.e. good used electric wheelchairs, hospital beds, bathroom devices, etc.? While we’re on the subject, any good recommendations for home health care services from your readers?
Angela, have you tried calling local thrift stores to see if they have any of the items you are looking for? I would also try searching Craigslist.
Do you have any advice for Angela?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
This is one spot where I’d be very particular about my used products, as the originals come with warranties and other newer safety features to make sure no one gets injured with these kind of products.
But, I’ve also been there and needed a wheelchair myself (due to surgery) in the past and was shocked at how much they are!
If you only need one for a short time, you might consider renting equipment. I called several places and found some basic home rental stores would rent a basic push wheelchair to me for around $60 for a week (and that was a couple years back).
Have you called your local hospital? They usually have a lead on these kinds of things, and their recommendation is usually a good sign.
Many have home health care or hospice services that can lead you to a good place to buy equipment, even if you don’t use their services.
It took me awhile when I needed to find my wheelchair – I probably spent half a day on the phone just to find one for the week I needed it.
The Convalesant Aid Society in Pasadena, CA. loans wheelchairs, shower benches, etc.
It is a great organization
In my state of Massachusetts, we have several websites & programs for used assistive technology. Check with your local Easter Seals program as well as your state’s disability/rehabilitative program.
For home health care, check w/your primary doctor for a referral. If you are an elder, check with your local elder service agency.
Lastly, you can always reach out to your local hospital’s social worker for resources.
The last time I needed a wheelchair (broken leg on a trip) rentals were $25 per day! I recalled having seen one at a thrift shop the week before and was able to purchase it for the cost of 2 days rental. But I agree that you need to check out the condition of used ones–a local veterans group had provided one immediately after the accident but it was defective as were the next two they supplied. We called the thrift store and they held the unit until we arrived (it was there on consignment but served me for several months).
The link on this page does not work! Please fix.
Boy, I could have used this post a few months ago! My Mom was kicked off Hospice in August and I had to purchase a used hospital bed…lucked out and found one reasonable on Craig’s list….
@Connie, @shirley and @MA Thanks for all your tips and practical advice!
@KayC Thanks for the heads up. I just fixed the link to the BargainBabe.com Facebook page. It is http://www.facebook.com/pages/BargainBabecom/205513012821?ref=ts
You can also try freecycle.com. There are groups all over and everything is exchanged for free. You can join a group that is in your area. Someone may have equipment that they are not using and will give or be willing to lend to you.
I’ve put out requests in the past and have been given or loaned items that I needed. I have also responded to requests by other freecyclers.
Many times there will be a church in the community that collects and distributes free medical supplies.
Or try a free medical clinic as people tend to donate supplies to them, too.
If you are looking forward to buy health products online I would like to recommend you to visit http://www.healthandinformation.com/onlinehealthshops.html. They offer quality health products as per customer requirements.
Thanks for all the great tips and thank you Bargain Babe for posting!
All of the advice given is wonderful. Depending on your insurance situation, most places will work with you on payment arrangements. I have Medicare and every one I have had to use has been wonderful about taking payments that we could afford since our financial situation was quite frankly pathetic.
I’ve been in a wheelchair since birth so I’ve been through having to find one a couple of times since I’ve been on my own. Again it all depends on your financial situation. If you have no insurance, try Craigslist and Freecycle, and also call each of the stores in your area who rent/sell durable medical equipment (DME in the phonebook probably!) and ask them if they have anything used but in decent condition they would be willing to sell you. Sometimes when a person gets a new chair they give their old ones to the stores just to get rid of them, and the stores fix ’em up for resale but they might also be willing to work out a payment you could handle on something used that would be in better condition.
Wheelchairs are terribly expensive so if you really are in no shape to pay for one, please don’t be choosy. I once offered a disabled veteran an old motoriized wheelchair that I was no longer using because I’d gotten a new one and his daughter told me how little money he had. We even delivered the chair to the man, as his daughter wsn’t home and he was unable to drive with limited mobility, and he turned his nose up at it and said he would wait on somebody to give him something that was in better shape. It was not falling apart but it wasn’t pretty, as I’d had it for many years and since I’m only 30 I was a bit active in my 30’s and was rough on them then. Still it ws in perfect working condition and I would have gotten a few thousand bucks had I chosen to sell it. A bottom of the line chair can sell for $5K, so if you’re offered a good deal please take it! Cosmetic issues can be fixed and batteries are cheap, so if it works otherwise you may just want to consider taking it. Believe me I have stacks miles high from medical equipment purchases and I wish I’d thought about Freecycle or Craigslist for osme of it.
Keep in mind also that it’s like another commenter said, you won’t always want something used. Bathroom and potty chairs are 2 things I just can’t imagine buying used unless I HAD to do it.
Tell the DME retailer that you’re paying cash (if you are) and see if they will cut you a deal since no insurance will have to be filed.
If you’d like to contact me for more, since I blabbed a lot here about the same things, feel free to email me because i do hace 31 years of experience in this field 🙂
You can reach me at kristinbrianne @ yahoo dot com!
Good Luck!
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