Annual AC Give Away

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Each spring a local healthcare provider aims to improve the lives of respiratory patients by offering free air conditioners. 

Rambo Memorial Health Center in conjunction with Muskingum Respiratory Care Association are providing 150 air conditioners, first come first served to qualified Muskingum County residents. 

“So our air conditioners are window units,” Bell said. “They are 5,000 BTU and they are designed to just cool down that room. Once you come in and fill out your paperwork, we give you a voucher and then you go to Home Depot and actually pick up your air conditioner.”

Bell says extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, can take the breath of people suffering from respiratory ailments and that patients are triggered by each temperature range differently. Additionally, open windows let mold, pollens and various allergens enter the home freely.

“So the best way to obtain an air conditioner is to come into Rambo,” Bell said. “There is paperwork that needs to be filled out but we encourage people to have your other paperwork ready. Make sure that you have your proof of income. Make sure that you have your note from your doctor. Be prepared before you come in because we have to have all of the things in place before you get your voucher for the air conditioner. We’re here Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30. And there is no paperwork online that you can do for this program. You do have to come in and do this.”

Bell noted that sleep apnea is not an acceptable diagnosis for qualification and that recipients who have received an air conditioner from Rambo or Community Action during the past three years are also ineligible.