To take a walk, get upstairs to bed or enjoy a soothing shower is simple for some but for others, especially the elderly, mobility doesn’t come as easy. Since 1940, the Medical Loan Closet has made durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters and rollators more available to those who are in need in the Windham Raymond community.
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| Windham's Medical Loan Closet makes available, ay no cost to town residents, durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters, crutches and more for anyone in need in the community. COURTESY PHOTO |
“It’s a town service and it’s a necessary service. People can’t say enough good things about it,” said Lynda Murphy, Director of the Medical Loan Closet.
Equipment is gathered through donations from people who have extra or unused equipment. People donate things like briefs and pull-ups, bed rails or sometimes money. The loan closet does not take anything battery powered or electric due to the cost of maintenance and disposal if no longer functioning. Any old or broken equipment the town recycles for aluminum or steel.
The loan closet allows borrowers to hold onto items for up to three months. Items cannot be purchased from the loan closet and should be returned at the end of three months to give others in need the chance to borrow them as well.
Murphy said that because of COVID, the closet lost a lot of equipment that was never returned. Thankfully, they have obtained better equipment over this past year and volunteers are constantly working to maintain the equipment for many clients. 
For many years, Ray Philpot has been the loan closet’s maintenance person, however all the volunteers clean and keep the equipment in shape.
“We keep the best equipment in the best shape it can be,” said Murphy.
The Medical Loan Closet has a budget of $600 which is provided through an annual grant, however monetary donations are also accepted.
Most volunteers at the Windham Loan Closet are older and some have been around for over 25 years. Volunteers bring in and clean donated and returned equipment. They answer the phone and serve the public.
“Our volunteers really go above and beyond,” says Murphy. “We just listen to people’s needs and we are really compassionate about what those needs are.”
Two small meetings a year are held to set up a rotating schedule for volunteers for the next six months. Right now, there are 12 volunteers and each works for one week every 12 weeks. On average, they service about 25 calls a week. They are always looking for new volunteers and never turn people away.
If anyone is interested in volunteering, call 207-894-5999 and leave your phone number and Murphy will call back with more information.
The Medical Loan Closet is open Monday through Friday. Checking-out or donating equipment is by appointment only. To set an appointment, call and leave a message on the closet’s automated voice message and a volunteer will return the call promptly. The phone is monitored daily. The closet is pick-up only. Volunteers are not able to deliver equipment on their own.
The Windham Loan Closet began as the Windham Health Council in the 1940s. The facility worked with schools and children, weighing, and measuring them. In the 1950s it organized a Well Baby Clinic that operated until about late 1960s. It was then that council volunteers worked to make fluoride treatment available to all Windham children. Following this, the Windham Health Council recruited the town’s first dentist in the 1970s.
In the beginning, Frederick Alken, superintendent of schools at the time, and Beverly Allen, a Windham school nurse, recognized the need to loan medical equipment to those recovering from an injury or struggling with a medical condition that couldn’t afford the necessary items immediately. Soon, town doctors Sidney Branson and Robert Burns joined, as did other volunteers.
Since its inception, the Windham Health Council has transformed into the Windham Medical Loan Closet and has served in getting medical equipment to those in-need. However, none of it could be made possible without the commitment and kindness of volunteers.
To obtain medical equipment, to donate items or to sign up as a volunteer, call 207-894-5999 and leave a message saying what you are calling for and a volunteer will return your call. <
For many years, Ray Philpot has been the loan closet’s maintenance person, however all the volunteers clean and keep the equipment in shape.
“We keep the best equipment in the best shape it can be,” said Murphy.
The Medical Loan Closet has a budget of $600 which is provided through an annual grant, however monetary donations are also accepted.
Most volunteers at the Windham Loan Closet are older and some have been around for over 25 years. Volunteers bring in and clean donated and returned equipment. They answer the phone and serve the public.
“Our volunteers really go above and beyond,” says Murphy. “We just listen to people’s needs and we are really compassionate about what those needs are.”
Two small meetings a year are held to set up a rotating schedule for volunteers for the next six months. Right now, there are 12 volunteers and each works for one week every 12 weeks. On average, they service about 25 calls a week. They are always looking for new volunteers and never turn people away.
If anyone is interested in volunteering, call 207-894-5999 and leave your phone number and Murphy will call back with more information.
The Medical Loan Closet is open Monday through Friday. Checking-out or donating equipment is by appointment only. To set an appointment, call and leave a message on the closet’s automated voice message and a volunteer will return the call promptly. The phone is monitored daily. The closet is pick-up only. Volunteers are not able to deliver equipment on their own.
The Windham Loan Closet began as the Windham Health Council in the 1940s. The facility worked with schools and children, weighing, and measuring them. In the 1950s it organized a Well Baby Clinic that operated until about late 1960s. It was then that council volunteers worked to make fluoride treatment available to all Windham children. Following this, the Windham Health Council recruited the town’s first dentist in the 1970s.
In the beginning, Frederick Alken, superintendent of schools at the time, and Beverly Allen, a Windham school nurse, recognized the need to loan medical equipment to those recovering from an injury or struggling with a medical condition that couldn’t afford the necessary items immediately. Soon, town doctors Sidney Branson and Robert Burns joined, as did other volunteers.
Since its inception, the Windham Health Council has transformed into the Windham Medical Loan Closet and has served in getting medical equipment to those in-need. However, none of it could be made possible without the commitment and kindness of volunteers.
To obtain medical equipment, to donate items or to sign up as a volunteer, call 207-894-5999 and leave a message saying what you are calling for and a volunteer will return your call. <
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