Mar 19, 2007

Chic stores serves special needs patientsBy Stacey BurlingThe Associated Press

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Debbie Heft is sold on Rehability, a surprisingly chic store for people with disabilities in a surprising location, a new outpatient rehabilitation center in Allentown.

Heft, who lives in an apartment nearby and has a host of medical problems, frequently drives her wheelchair to the new 3,300-square-foot store in the Good Shepherd Health & Technology Center.

She bought a crochet hoop there that clamps to the armrest of her wheelchair, and a cuff she uses to create a thicker handle for the tiny crochet hook she needs to make baby clothes. She got an umbrella that clamps to the back of the wheelchair and a hot-pink flag that makes her more visible during her long jaunts in traffic.

“I think it’s marvelous,” she said of the store. “I love it.”

Rehability is an experiment in retailing.

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