“They work like a pit crew at NASCAR!” said Brian Jointer as he watched a group of volunteers quickly inspect and work on the power wheelchair of Dosker Manor resident Miles Vaughn on Saturday.
Jointer is the local health program manager for SOS International. The organization’s volunteers replaced the battery and tightened the bolts on Vaughn’s wheelchair.
Nearly two dozen Dosker Manor residents had their wheelchairs cleaned and repaired for free last weekend. The repair clinic helped residents with disabilities who will be moving out of the apartment complex before it is demolished.
Vaughn, who said he has lived in the downtown complex for 17 years, said he is looking forward to moving out of Dosker Manor now that his power wheelchair has finally received the repairs it needs.
“It’s time to go!” he said, smiling as he watched the volunteers wipe down his chair.
In the first two hours of the clinic at Dosker Manor, volunteers had repaired and replaced parts for 20 wheelchairs.
“That’s 20 people who won’t have to worry about getting around during the transition period, which will be a huge deal,” Jointer said.
SOS International is a local medical surplus recovery nonprofit that advocates for health equity and focuses on health inequalities.
The organization received a 2024 Quality of Life Grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to operate eight wheelchair repair clinics across the city for homeless or housing-insecure individuals, as well as residents of some public housing complexes.
SOS International has partnered with the Coalition for the Homeless, VOCAL-KY, Goodwill, the Arthur Street Hotel and other local organizations to promote the clinics.
Denise Sears, CEO of SOS International, said she sees the clinic as an opportunity to ensure physical, mental and spiritual health.
“It’s terribly demoralizing and depressing to feel so helpless because you can’t get to a church service or get out of your house with your wheelchair or walker,” she said.
Mobility aids and replacement parts are expensive and can take up to a year to arrive. And insurance claims can be denied or take a long time to process. For people without insurance, power wheelchairs can cost thousands of dollars.
Jocelyn Warren is an occupational therapist who supports the nonprofit. She said it’s difficult for mobility aid users to get timely repairs. Wheelchairs and power chairs need to be serviced every few months, and Medicare only covers the cost of replacing a wheelchair or power chair every five years.
“For some of these people, this wheelchair is their means of transportation. They live on the streets and their wheelchair is subject to a lot of wear and tear. They can’t keep this up for five years,” she said.
A poorly fitting chair or a mobility device in need of repair can be harmful to people with disabilities, says Kara Ayers, an associate professor in the division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who also works on regional and national disability policy issues.
“Not only does it block people’s access to their community – whether it’s in terms of employment or just the right to live in a community, to go shopping or to get the groceries they need – but it has definitely led to health complications,” she said.
Ayers said getting a wheelchair or mobility device is not easy. It depends heavily on the health system’s process to get a mobility device, which requires a prescription and long wait times.
And when someone needs replacement parts, Ayers says another cycle begins, involving the doctor and insurance company.
“I think the system is based on the idea that the disabled person doesn’t know best, you know, they can’t really be trusted to choose the arrangement they need. They should have that oversight,” she said.
SOS International plans to open six more wheelchair repair clinics across the city.
