“We had people who literally couldn’t afford the $10 copay,” recalls Patrick Kitzman, a doctor of physical therapy and a professor at the university since 2000. (A quarter of Hazard’s residents live in poverty.)
In 2010, representatives from the programs formed a partnership and applied for, and received, a federal grant with which they created Project CARAT. (The acronym stands for “Coordinating and Assisting the Reuse of Assistive Technology.”)
A project of the Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN), CARAT collects used durable medical equipment items from donors. hospitals and health care providers. The items are sanitized, repaired, sometimes customized, and distributed for free to uninsured, underinsured and other…
