Since the Fall of 1961, The Lending Room has been serving the needs of Beaufort residents by lending medical equipment to those who need it. What began with a few pairs of crutches being loaned from a closet in the old Luther’s Pharmacy, BMH Women’s Auxiliary member, Natalie Haskell, expanded her reach by lending free medical equipment to discharged patients from a facility located on Beaufort Memorial Hospital grounds. In the years following, The Lending Room served from a variety of locations only to find itself back in a facility located on hospital grounds, just across the street from the entrance to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
In 1968, Haskell passed the reins to Mrs. Sam Smith, who after one year, passed it along to long time auxiliary member, Becky Trask, who lovingly carried the torch for the next 40 years. In 2009, after utilizing the services of The Lending Room for her mother, Martha O’Regan along with Carolyn Roos, became the next in line to keep The Lending Room going. In the 17 years since then, TLR has grown into a very dynamic operation with over 30 volunteers who lend and receive equipment 6 days a week, maintain and repair equipment and provide pick up service for heavy items such as hospitals beds and electric chairs.
The success of this effort lies with our TLR team and BMH, but equally important has been the community’s involvement who have generously donated both financially and with durable medical equipment to make this service possible. As an all-volunteer organization, we are committed to recycling much needed medical equipment back into the community and making that equipment more accessible to all.