Cook Children’s hospital asking for donated crutches to prepare for possible shortage
Officials at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth are worried the hospital won’t have enough crutches for its young patients soon, and they’re asking the community for help meeting needs.
Brady Gendke, the medical center’s vice president of operations, said Cook Children’s isn’t facing a crisis yet, but trouble in the supply chain for equipment and shortages of aluminum have them worried.
“We’re trying to get ahead of the curve because this could get worse if we don’t do our due diligence,” Gendke said in a news conference Monday.
To try to prepare for a possible crisis, Cook Children’s is asking for donations of aluminum crutches, especially those in youth and standard adult sizes.
Youth sizes are typically 4 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 1 inch and standard adult sizes are 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 10 inches.
Donated crutches will go through a safety inspection and sanitation process before they are handed off to patients. Donations are being accepted from Monday, Nov. 8 to Friday, Nov. 19, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the main entrance of Cook Children’s Medical Center, 801 7th Ave., Fort Worth.
Gendke said the hospital has enough crutches to last two months right now, but trends show there could be a large disruption to the supply chain for this equipment. The problem is nationwide, he said, and other hospitals are asking for similar donations.
Transportation partners have told Cook Children’s they may have trouble getting orders out on time due to staffing shortages, while the hospital has been following a shortage of the aluminum used to make the crutches in recent days, Gendke said.
If it isn’t able to collect enough crutches through donations, the hospital is prepared to suspend elective surgeries that could leave patients needing help with mobility.
The hospital is also looking into crutch supplies that school athletics programs might have and be able to donate. In a pinch, Gendke said, some patients might be able to use walkers, wheel chairs or canes instead of crutches.