Medical Equipment Recycling Program
The UPMC Horizon Community Foundation’s Medical Equipment Recycling Program provides refurbished medical equipment at no cost to area residents in need.
How the Program Works
The Medical Equipment Recycling Program (also known as MERP) is an initiative of the UPMC Horizon Community Health Foundation. MERP accepts donations of gently used medical equipment from area residents who no longer need it or from organizations which have collected the items and reuses them by loaning the equipment to community members who need it. MERP also accepts donations of certain unused medical supplies, such as adult diapers, bed pads and bandages, which are made available to anyone who needs them. Anyone in the community can take advantage of the program – they do not have to be UPMC patients to use MERP’s services!
When equipment is received or returned, MERP staff clean, inspect, and repair the equipment as necessary to ensure that it is in an excellent condition. When ready, the equipment is made available to loan out. This process provides no-cost equipment to those in the surrounding area who have financial or other needs preventing them from obtaining equipment on their own and saves equipment from being discarded before the end of its lifespan. A single piece of equipment, cared for in this way, can serve dozens of people during its useful life.
The goal of MERP is to improve general community health by ensuring that residents have the equipment they need to live safe, active and independent lives. You can participate in MERP’s work in a number of ways. If you have unused medical equipment or supplies that are in good condition, you can donate it to MERP for others to use. You can sign up to be a volunteer repairing equipment or assisting customers. You can also make a financial donation to help support MERP and the costs of obtaining, cleaning, repairing and loaning equipment to the community. Your support makes a difference!
Equipment we loan:
- Wheelchairs and Transport Chairs (prescription required)
- Canes
- Walkers
- Bathroom equipment, including tub benches, shower chairs, tub bars, toilet bars, bedside commodes and raised seats
- Rollators (prescription required)
- Over the Bed Tables
- Reachers, sock aids and leg lifters
- Hoyer Lifts and slings
- Bed Assist Rails
- Crutches
- Knee Scooters (prescription required)
- Other durable medical equipment
Request Equipment
You can request equipment by completing our online application.
Locations
Shenango Valley
Mon–Fri • 10:30am – 4pm
707 Sharon-New Castle Road
Farrell, PA 16121
Phone: 724-347-MERP (6377)
Fax: 724-983-8734
Greenville
M/W/F • 11am – 3pm
2nd floor of Greenville UPMC Horizon Hospital. From the main hospital entrance, take the elevator in the back of the lobby (Elevator C) to the 2nd floor.
110 North Main Street
Greenville, PA 16125
Phone: 724-589-MERP (6377)
Fax: 724-373-1999
New Castle
Tues–Thurs • 11am – 4pm
In the Professional Building at UPMC Jameson Campus
1203 Wilmington Ave.
New Castle, PA 16105
Phone: 724-656-4000
Fax: 724-786-7733
How to Become Part of the Program
MERP could not operate without the generous support of donors, friends and volunteers. You can get involved in any of the following ways…
Give
It’s easy to make a one-time or recurring donation to benefit MERP and help provide medical equipment to those who need it. Your gift helps ensure the program can purchase, clean and repair medical equipment to be used by community members. Click here to give now.
Donate
If you own medical equipment that is no longer needed, donate it to MERP for its use by those who need it! Equipment must be clean and in good condition to be used. Please call us at 724-347-MERP before delivering your equipment to us to ensure that we can use it.
Volunteer
We are always in need of volunteers to help transport, clean and refurbish our equipment, or to help customers get the equipment they need. Please contact us at 724-347-MERP to learn more about how you can help by becoming a MERP volunteer.
Donate Online
It’s easy to make a one-time or recurring donation to benefit MERP and help provide medical equipment to those who need it.
Join the
MERP News & Updates
MERP Celebration Picnics
We celebrated our 10,000th recipient with two picnics this fall. Over 200 people came to enjoy lunch provided by UPMC Horizon and to listen to the music of Max Schang on guitar! Three lucky attendees won prizes. “We are celebrating the fact that we have now, this...
10,000 Helped!
Thanks to your donations, in December 2014 we loaned medical equipment to our 10,000th person! Patricia is one of those 10,000. She was shoveling snow, slipped on the ice and broke her kneecap. "I needed surgery and the copays were outrageous. On top of that, I needed...
Thank you to our partners
Henry E. Niles Foundation, Inc.
