The Equipment Comes Back Too: Ask Who Picks It Up, When It Happens, and What Stays Behind

A hospital bed, a lift or a commode arrives on a delivery day that someone planned around. It leaves on a day that may not have been planned, often with little notice, and it leaves through the same door. Before you accept an item into the house, find out who takes it back, and get the answer in writing.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Ask who owns each item

Rented equipment belongs to the company that supplies it, not to the family. Purchased items belong to the family. Ask the agency to name the supplier for each item on the list, and ask which items are rented and which are bought. A bed, a lift and a commode can come from more than one company, and each company may have its own pickup crew.

Ask who schedules the pickup

Ask who calls to set the pickup, whether the agency or the supplier makes that call, and what the window is. Ask what happens if the pickup is missed or if the crew arrives when the house is not ready. Ask whether the family must move the item to the door or clear a path, and whether the crew needs a second person to carry or turn a bed.

Read the paper you already have

Look at the delivery ticket and any rental paperwork for the company name, a phone number and a line about pickup. Write the phone number on the front of the folder. If the item has no name or tag on it, write the company name on the item's tag. If a line about pickup is missing, ask the agency to add it in writing before you rely on it.

Before the crew comes

Clear the path from the bed to the door. Take off personal items, pillows and blankets that belong to the family and not the bed. Keep the controls and any cords with the item so nothing is left behind. Ask the crew to confirm the count of items they take, and check the list before they leave.

Ask what stays behind

Some supplies and items belong to the family to keep or discard. Ask the agency which items are the family's, and do not put anything at the curb until the agency has said what it is. Keeping the local numbers next to the agency paperwork makes a late question easier to answer, and the local help page on this site is a reasonable place to start.