Debbie Sharon: The whole premise behind the CARAT project is to help people that are uninsured,
underinsured, or on government programs of Medicaid, Medicare to acquire the items they
need, the walkers, the wheelchairs, canes, quad canes, forearm crutches that they cannot
afford.
Devon: We’ve brought in used equipment, we have cleaned them, we’ve replaced parts.
Devon: I come from rural town so it feels good to be able to give back to those who
have provided for me.
It just feels good to know that we are helping to improve someone’s quality of life.
Jessica: It’s very rewarding like I feel like we’re doing something that matters.
VO: Project CARAT began in May 2012 with a four-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar federal
grant.
Partners include the state vocational rehab office, the Bluegrass Technology Center, and
the KARRN project based at the University of Kentucky.
Carol Weber: A lot of people in Appalachian Kentucky don’t have access to the health
insurance and things like that might pay for this equipment otherwise.
Or even if they do have health insurance, they might not be able to afford the co-pay
that comes with the equipment.
Pat Kitzman: If you’re talking Medicare/Medicaid, it could be months of trying to be in the
system until you can actually get the equipment.
Carol Weber: Right now when Medicaid purchases a piece of equipment when the person stops
using it, it goes in a landfill, gets tucked in somebody’s closet, it is not usable by
anybody else.
Pat Kitzman: This will have a huge cost-savings both to the state, to the insurance companies,
but also to the individuals who just need equipment quickly.
Debbie Sharon: We’re accepting all types of assistive technology, and specifically,
the home medical equipment.
Devon: Mostly what we’ve brought in is wheelchairs, walkers, canes.
Pat Kitzman: The first equipment that was donated was five hospital beds and it took
us two days to get them flipped out to people who needed them.
VO: KARRN is an NIH-funded project to build a support net for people in Eastern Kentucky
returning home after stroke, brain or spinal cord injuries.
The Center for Excellence in Rural Health in Hazard is one of KARRN’s many partners.
Pat Kitzman: Part of what the KARRN project is doing is we’re providing our linkages
within the community to get the word out to find the durable medical goods, assistive
technology.
Devon: A lot of the health providers are saying there is a need for this program and a lot
of them want to know more information and want to become partners in this program.
Debbie Sharon: The KATS Network, here in Kentucky, is rolling out a new online database the CARAT
project has our own inventory so that folks can explore the items that we have readily
available and make a request online.
Carol Weber: AT recycling is done across the United States and Medicaid equipment recycling
is done in a few places, but nowhere are they using this service learning type model that
we are using here in Kentucky.
Jessica: We’re gonna know how to fix the equipment ourselves if problems arise while
we’re with patients.
Dr. Kitzman’s already told us about things that he’s gone through as a physical therapist
himself and how he’s had to make those minor adjustments whenever he was working with patients.
Pat Kitzman: This is a skillset you need.
You absolutely need to be able to fix things because you’re always doing things on the
fly.
Carol Weber: The students get to learn hands-on about assistive technology and how it works
and what’s available and how it gets assigned to people, so it will actually make those
students better clinicians in the future.
Devon: I definitely think it will help us in our physical therapy career.
We deal with assistive devices, we need to know how to take care of these devices and
we need to teach our patients how to care for these devices as well.
Pat Kitzman: Our students are passionate about trying to give back.
Especially our students who are based out of Hazard, all from rural communities.
So they get to have a direct impact in their own communities, which is an awesome feeling.
Debbie Sharon: Providing them a hands-on opportunity in a learning environment but also giving
back environment to the community we believe is a win, win, win situation for everyone
involved.