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Question: I am a Nurse Practitioner that works for Community Health Services through Northwest Allied Physicians in a Quick Med clinic that provides primary care as well as walk-in needs. I alternate days with another NP but we are the sole providers here. We have a large population that are low-income, underserved, homeless and uninsured or poorly insured. This clinic is very different from the rest of the offices of Northwest Allied Physicians for that reason. I have many patients that are unable to obtain lifesaving equipment such as a nebulizer and glucose monitor because they are unable to afford it or they do not have the mental capability or resources. I wanted to look into writing a grant to obtain these type of necessary medical equipment for patients to use at home to prevent them from having to go to the ER or worse. I do not even know where to begin to start this process or if this is even a feasible option.
I would appreciate any feedback.
Thank you
Answer:

             Thank you for writing to us at the Community Tool Box with your question. We appreciate the great value of your work as well as its specialized nature. and also the clear feeling behind your writing.    

            While we do not know of specific funding sources that address the specific situation you describe, we think identifying (and possibly then pursuing) possible sources is certainly worth some effort. 

            As a general principle in most any project, it makes sense to work together with others who believe as you do. In your case, you might seek out and enlist the help of local colleagues who are closer to your particular situation, and who may also have a little more experience and/or contacts on the fund-raising end.  We can see the potential value of calling a meeting of these people to discuss this issue more systematically, with the goal of coming up with a working plan of action. 

            We wonder also whether it might be possible to contact the manufacturers themselves.  Is there a possibility of donation, or discounted rates, or specialized cost-sharing rates?  Or are there cooperative arrangements that could be made between the manufacturers and public-sector entities?   In this case, some creativity on your part may be called for.   We can’t be sure how feasible any of these possibilities may be, but we think there is little downside to investigating them.     

           We hope some of these suggestions may be helpful to you.  Thanks again for writing, and all very best wishes for success in your most important work.

Question Date: Sat, 04/07/2018