Repairing the Ecosystem of Mobility with Kirk Knestis

Musings That Matter: Expansive Thinking About Humanity's Problems

I recently spoke with Kirk Knestis, PhD, about Repairing the Ecosystem of Mobility.

Kirk is Executive Director of WheelCare Health Inc. Before starting this new nonprofit, he spent 25 years doing program and policy evaluation, focusing on innovations in federally funded education programs. Prior to that, he worked as a higher education instructor and master’s degree program manager, K-12 educator, and small business entrepreneur. He holds a BFA in Industrial Design, a Master in Teaching, and a terminal degree in program and policy evaluation

What problem are you facing? (see graphic)

• Ensuring people in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties (Virginia) with mobility needs have the right equipment, and the equipment is in optimal working order.

What part of the problem are you trying to solve? (see highlighted path in graphic)

• Connecting people (primarily low income seniors) with the right mobility equipment to meet their needs.

How are you meeting this need?

• By repairing their existing mobility equipment using an onsite delivery model.

• By redistributing donated and refurbished mobility equipment.

What do you need to better meet this need? (see outlined boxes in graphic)

• Funding through donations to subsidize sliding scale payments for client device repairs (two separate revenue streams).

• Eventually, foundation or other grant support to help make the mission sustainable.

• Access to unused equipment to refurbish and redistribute.

• Community relationships built on trust and transparency to make connections with (1) those who have mobility equipment to donate, (2) those who need mobility equipment, (3) individuals needing service of devices, and (4) decision-makers interested in supporting our mission with funding.

What support do you need one layer in and out from where you are trying to solve the problem?

• Need community champions (e.g., family members, medical providers, senior centers) in each of the four areas in the bullet above to help connect the service with those who need functional mobility equipment.

• Need to educate the community about the complexity of the problem and misaligned incentives including the transparent repair process and what optimal working order means when it comes to mobility equipment.

What does it look like to the outside observer?

• People often don’t recognize the problem because the individuals with mobility needs are literally more isolated from society; people with insufficient mobility aids even more so. Even those with mobility needs, don’t always recognize the resources available to restore—or even maintain—the functionality of their mobility equipment.

What can someone do today for long-term activism?

• Healthcare reimbursement needs to be redesigned to include reimbursement for equipment repair with a straightforward application and approval process.

• Emerging “right to repair” laws need to consider personal mobility devices, ideally as a particular challenge given how crucial they are to some Americans.

What magnificence can we imagine?

• It would be awesome if the ecosystem of mobility included functional equipment to mitigate individual suffering. At the community level in northern Virginia this looks like having a repair and maintenance ecosystem to efficiently afford mobility equipment to people who need them (or repair existing equipment for optimal use). This would ideally leverage equipment already in circulation to decrease costs to users and keep unused hardware out of the waste stream.

What’s next for You?

• Continue educating the community about this problem to build support—access, logistics, and financing—to keep repairing, refurbishing, and redistributing mobility equipment for those who need it!

Want to learn more?

Reach out via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-knestis/ or contribute directly at  https://www.wheelcare.health/