Sept. 22, 2022 | Mike Lydick mlydick@thereminder.com

Melvyn Hook, right, shows Jonas Clark how to operate an electric hospital bed he picked up at Western Massachusetts HELP, a medical equipment exchange in Westfield run by Hook and fellow Masons. Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick

WESTFIELD – Gail Joubert was so happy to get a new motorized power wheelchair that tears streamed down her face. The best thing about her brand-new wheelchair: there was no charge.

The wheelchair was loaned to her by the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge in Westfield through its innovative Western Massachusetts Hospital Equipment Loan Program (HELP). Launched about a year ago, it loans a variety of clean and durable medical equipment – from mechanical “grabbers” to crutches, canes, walkers, and Rollators to manual and motorized wheelchairs. Shower chairs, transfer benches, commodes, hospital beds, Hoyer lifts, and numerous accessories are also available.

“This will give me by freedom back – and that feels good. It means I can now go back to working again,” said the Springfield resident as she sat in the foyer of the lodge on Sept. 17. She had been searching a number of places in the area for a used motorized wheelchair, but couldn’t find any.

Then a friend at her church suggested she call HELP.

“I was thrilled when I found out they had one,” she said. Joubert was so excited that she called several times during the week just to make sure before she came with her son to pick up the wheelchair. “I couldn’t believe it was true. This will be a big help to me.”

The HELP facility is open every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon – rain or shine, holiday or not. During those three hours, Masons from lodges across Western Massachusetts help people who are picking up hospital equipment. They also collect donated equipment that’s dropped off and assist people who stop to browse.

The equipment is stored in a large 8- by 20-foot gray shipping container tucked away in the parking lot behind the lodge. The container was donated by Cynthia Ekstedt Connelly, a retired professor at Springfield College who died from cancer earlier this month. She donated it in memory of a family friend, Yvette Locke, who inspired children with medical challenges.

Members of the Ekstedt family, who also have made monetary donations to the equipment program, will be on hand Sept. 24 for an official ceremony at 10 a.m. to dedicate the on-site collection, storage, and distribution facility at 72 Broad St., Westfield. A number of local officials and dignitaries also are expected to attend.

Melvyn Hook, a past president of the Westfield lodge, oversees the program. A member of the lodge for more than a decade, he said the idea for HELP came in the spring of 2021 when he and other Masons were helping to raise money to build a ramp for a Westfield man recently diagnosed with ALS.

“While we were there, we learned about the struggles many people have with insurance companies to get medical equipment they need, but can’t afford when insurance won’t cover the cost. I felt there was a need for this program in our community,” recalled Hook, a retired auto mechanic.

In addition to helping Joubert get her wheelchair, Hook also extracted an electric hospital bed from the container for Jonas Clark. The Northampton resident was picking up the bed and a commode for his mother, who is moving into assisted living. The HELP facility was recommended by his mother’s physical therapist.

“This is a fantastic help,” said Clark as he and a friend loaded the bed into a trailer attached to his pickup truck. “Mel’s doing a wonderful thing helping people get this equipment.”

Since HELP began collecting and loaning used hospital and medical equipment last fall, Hook estimates 100 to 150 people have benefited from the program.

The container is “packed to the doors.” Hook said he hopes to get a second container donated to store more equipment.

“There is a lot of satisfaction doing this program,” added Hook, who lives in Chester. “There’s such a good feeling helping people – it’s something money can’t buy.”

The program is modeled on a similar HELP facility at a Masonic lodge in Woburn that has supplied medical equipment to thousands of people in Metro Boston for 50 years.

“Currently, Westfield has the only Masonic HELP facility in this part of the state,” said Hook. In addition to Woburn, he said there are two other HELP facilities in Massachusetts staffed by Masons, one in Framingham and the other on Cape Cod.

He said the program is aimed at getting a supply of good, used hospital equipment to donate to anyone in the community who is in need. You don’t have to be a Mason to borrow the equipment. It’s for home use only – the equipment may not be used by nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities.

Hook explained that all the equipment comes from community donations.

“All our equipment is loaned on a first-come, first-served basis. Equipment is provided free of charge – all we ask is that people return it to us when they’re done using it.”

Hook said one of the pieces of equipment the program needs is more wheelchairs in good condition. Also, while there’s a lot of equipment that can be donated, there are certain items that can’t be accepted: any broken items, medicines, non-electric beds, unclean items, blankets and fabric covers, electric wheelchairs, and open packages of supplies.

Western Mass. HELP is a 501(c)(3), IRS-recognized charitable organization. In addition to collecting equipment, HELP accepts monetary donations during its Saturday morning hours. Donations can also be mailed to HELP, 72 Broad St., Westfield, MA 01085. For more information, contact Melvyn Hook at 301-3293.