Scottish Rite Hospital In Dallas Makes Plea For Donated Crutches Amid National Shortage
DALLAS (Nov. 12, 2021) – Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas has joined Cook Children's in making a plea for donations of new or gently used crutches in any size (youth and adult).
The current, ongoing supply chain disruption across the U.S. is impacting the number of crutches available.
"We are feeling the impact of the nation-wide shortage of aluminum crutches, especially in the most commonly issued pediatric size of 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-10," says Scottish Rite for Children therapy services manager Mickey Hensley, O.T.R. "Similar to other hospitals, our need is on the rise. With unfilled backorders and no delivery dates in sight, we are reaching out to our community for support."
Crutches are one of the most common pieces of hospital equipment provided to patients, according to the hospital. It is crucial for children with healing lower extremities to refrain from walking or bearing weight. Teams at Scottish Rite said they issue an average of 20+ pairs of crutches a week.
Donated crutches will go through the same safety inspection and sanitization process like all other medical equipment. Each pair will be cleaned, sanitized, operational and safe for patients to use. Crutch donations can be dropped off at the main entrances of the Dallas and Frisco Scottish Rite facilities.
Cook Children's Home Health sent out the call earlier this week for anyone who has a pair of new or gently used aluminum crutches that no longer needs them.
The crutches can be dropped off at the main entrance to the hospital in Fort Worth.
"We are being notified of the back orders that are coming and so we want to get ahead of the curve sooner than later and make sure we are prepared for an event that could get worse if we are not doing all the due diligence that we need to," said Brady Genke, VP of Operations for Cook Children's Home Health.