Inside a small white one-car garage, the Newark Central Christian Church medical loan closet is stuffed.
Canes, wheelchairs, bedpans, shower benches, walkers, bandages and more spilled over from neatly labeled wooden shelves. A few volunteers crowded the already cramped space, cleaning items returned by community members that day.
Community members can visit in person or call to borrow assorted medical equipment, like a book from a library. Clients loan products out on an honor system, promising to return items in a reasonable amount of time.
Jan Tomlinson, volunteer and member of Newark Central Christian Church, said they aren’t concerned about people keeping items because the community understands each other’s needs.
“Say somebody’s coming in because they’re going to have hip surgery and the doctor told him they need a particular, a specific kind of walker or a bedside commode or a toilet seat riser. So they’ll come in and use it for as long as they need to. And all we ask is that when they’re done, they bring it back and we’ll sanitize it and make it available for the next person that might need it,” Tomlinson said.
She explained that medical recovery and home-care equipment can be expensive, especially for those without insurance. The loan closet helps families and individuals avoid one-off medical equipment purchases, like a walker or rollator, that can add up.
The Health Policy Institute of Ohio reported that after enhanced federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025, marketplace insurers increased premiums by an average of 18% in 2026. High prices caused Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollment in Ohio to fall by 161,000 people, a 32.4% decrease, between February 2025 and February 2026.
Every month, 16 church members volunteer about five hours to assist community members who visit. In July, the closet was open 10 days, served 464 customers either over the phone or in person, and sent out 326 items of medical equipment. In the same month, they received 398 items to add to their supply.
The volunteers also keep a waitlist for items clients were unable to receive on their visits. They write the item and the client’s phone number down to contact them later, but waiting typically does not last long.
“Three people, back to back, came in: ‘I need a shower chair.’ ‘I’m sorry, we’re out,’” Tomlinson explained. “Before they even got out of the parking lot, a truck pulled up with a flatbed trailer of 15 brand new in boxes.”
The closet is supplied by donations of all kinds, but primarily with incontinence products, like absorbent pads or protective underwear. The Newark medical loan closet is connected to a network of other organizations in Johnstown and Thornville that provide similar services. When other organizations lack supplies, they can exchange supplies with each other.
The Newark medical loan closet began in 2002, said long-time congregation member Steve Crothers. He was looking for a new wheel to repair someone’s rollator.
“A woman spoke up in church and asked: ‘My mother was using a wheelchair, and now she’s gone; you don’t have anyone who could use it?’ And the two ladies that she was talking to looked at each other and said: ‘There’s got to be more than one,’” Crothers said. “And that’s how it started, just a simple question.”
They started in a room in the church’s basement, but soon grew beyond the space. The original space now houses overflow items. As a church, the congregation has agreed to pursue nonprofit status in the future. The 500-square-foot garage lacks the space to meet the demands and needs of the community, but that doesn’t stop volunteers from providing clients with anything they may need.
The medical loan closet is currently open to the public every Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Tyler K. Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.
Thompson is one of two Kirtley Mather Fellows at The Reporting Project. The Kirtley Mather Fellowship is created in memory of Kirtley Mather, Denison Class of 1909, with the mission of providing unique opportunities for students to engage in service to the common good.