Estes Park Health gives back to Quota Club with makeover of the Loan Closet
Since 1949, the Estes Park Chapter of Quota Club International has raised funds and served the Estes Valley community by purchasing 21 ambulances over the years and providing durable medical equipment through the Loan Closet.
But as the Loan Closet grew, the space they used felt smaller and the lack of organization became almost unbearable.
In stepped the staff of Estes Park Health with a solution.
As EPH management evaluated the various properties owned by the hospital and looked for a place for the upcoming boards and staff of the Park Hospital District and the Estes Park Health Foundation to work after the completion of the affiliation with UCHealth, a solution rose to the top of the idea pile.
That idea revolved around converting the former emergency services house and wood shop into a new space for not only the upcoming boards and staff but the Loan Closet too.
“We used to use two garages in different houses,” said Peggy Lynch, Co-Chair of the Loan Closet. “There is a storage closet near the emergency department too. It was just all over.”
Now, thanks to the vision of Isaac Vancil, who did all of the construction and design of the new layout, the space for the Loan Closet has increased by about 300 square feet.
Hundreds of pieces of durable medical equipment have been donated to the Estes Park Chapter of the Quota Club for use in the Loan Closet who loan it out for free with a refundable deposit. Now the equipment has a new, larger and more organized home thanks to Estes Park Health. (Photo credit: Dawn Wilson)
What used to be stacks of equipment in corners and a haphazard organization system has been converted into a seamless presentation and approach to storage.
“My husband and I came over and measured everything and then handed it over to the Estes Park Health guys to start the remodel,” said Lynch. “It is amazing what they did with this space.”
The Loan Closet provides durable medical equipment, such as hospital beds, crutches, walkers and wheelchairs, to people in Estes Valley. All of the equipment – more than 750 pieces of which 400 to 500 have been borrowed in the last 12 months – has been donated.
“The equipment is free to the community,” said Lynch. “All the borrower needs to do is provide a fully refundable deposit. Many choose for it to be a donation after returning the equipment without having to buy it.”
And “the community” refers to anyone in the community – visiting or residing.
Peggy Lynch and Linda Polland pose with Steve Hutchins who recently borrowed a wheelchair for his mother from the Quota Club Loan Closet in Estes Park, Colorado. (Photo credit: Dawn Wilson)
“My family, including my mom, who is 90, were visiting Estes Park for a family reunion,” said Steve Hutchins, an upstate New York resident who was returning a wheelchair to the Loan Closet. “She has trouble walking and this was a godsend. She was able to participate. Otherwise, everything would have had to been brought to her. Thanks to the YMCA for telling us about this closet, she was able to do everything with us, including visit Rocky.”
“So many people that live here – either for themselves or their family – have at some time been able to take advantage of what we have at the Loan Closet,” said Linda Polland, Chair of the Loan Closet.
If you are interested in learning more about or donating to the Loan Closet or the Estes Park Chapter of Quota Club, visit estesparkquota.com.