Wheelchair Repair Hits Speed Bump

How long is a necessary medical repair supposed to take?

Oscar Russell, a retired stevedore contacted Help Me Howard after waiting over two months for his mechanical wheelchair to be repaired.

Oscar was frustrated because he says the pharmacy, which was handling the repair, Health Choice Pharmacy, never answered his calls or questions.

The double amputee was given a manual wheelchair by Health Choice, to use during his wait, but it made getting around difficult and Oscar had to make regular doctor visits that involved taking mass transit.

After more then two months of no answers, Help Me Howard called Health Choice Pharmacy to find out what the delay was and exactly one week later Oscar had his repaired wheelchair back.

According to Health Choice, the repair service they had sent Oscar's wheelchair to was not working out and they had to send it to another repair service, causing further delay.

If you are a senior citizen and having trouble with a service, you can contact the New York City Department for the Aging by calling 311 or go to www.nyc.gov

Another agency that can help is the New York State Foundation for Senior Citizens at 212-962-2720 or go to www.nyfs.org