Impactful Women of the 918: Martha Onstott

Martha Onstott is founder of Keith & Associates DME, which provides durable medical equipment and supplies to adults with developmental disabilities. She also works with K&A Nutrition, which provides nutrition services for clients with developmental disabilities, including those with Prader-Willi syndrome. After seeing a need among their clients, Onstott helped expand services to include supplies such as food thickeners and incontinence products.

“We love our clients and wanted to bridge the gap between nutrition and supplies,” she says.

For Onstott, the need for strong community-based support is personal. Some of the clients she has served previously lived at Hissom Memorial Center, the former state institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that closed in 1994.

“Seeing that environment was enough to know there needs to be better support systems in place,” she says.

Onstott also works with agencies throughout Tulsa to provide work opportunities for clients, from deliveries to paperwork. Many volunteer with organizations such as A New Leaf, which she says is “a great way to help improve Tulsa and make a positive impact on someone’s life.”

Outside of work, Onstott enjoys Philbrook’s movies on the lawn and gardening in her backyard with her dog, Poppy.

Q&A with Martha Onstott

Please share a little background about yourself and your current role. How long have you been in your current position? What other things have you done leading up to your current role?  Also, if you’d like to share a little about your personal life, please do!

I am head of K&A DME, durable medical equipment. We provide DME to DHS patients over 21 years of age. Our clients are usually disabled, with 24-hour care. K&A Nutrition was created to see developmentally disabled clients, specifically Prader-Willi. After we saw the lack of resources available to our clientele, we opened DME. Most of our clients receive nutritional services from K&A Nutrition, and DME provides food, thickeners, or incontinent supplies. We love our clients and wanted to bridge the gap between nutrition and supplies.

You were nominated because others felt you have an impact on the community in some way. How do you feel that your position/work impacts the community? Why is that important to you?

We impact the community by supporting the IDD/DDSD community in Green Country. We work with case managers to moms to make it all happen. It’s important to me because some of our clients came from Hissom and seeing that environment was enough to know there needs to be better support systems in place. We personally work with agencies from all around Tulsa to provide work opportunities for our own clients, from delivery to paperwork. We value their time and effort. Volunteering with agencies such as A New Leaf is a great way to help improve Tulsa and make a positive impact on someone’s life.

Do you have a fun fact that you can share about yourself, or do you have a favorite place to go in Tulsa (restaurant, entertainment venue)?

My favorite thing to do in Tulsa is to watch the Philbrook’s movie on the lawn and gardening in my backyard oasis with Poppy, the best pupper.