Page 28 - Mobility Management, March 2017

ATP Series
Seating on All Surfaces
Using general DME, therefore, “would be like sitting on wood or a hard plastic seat without having their cushion. And most
of consumers that are in CRT have some type of tilt or recline because they can’t shift their weight; that tilt allows them to shift their weight in a wheelchair. That’s why they can’t buy a stan- dard shower chair or commode from Walgreens or CVS. One, it doesn’t allow them to weight shift. Two, it’s not going to give them the optimal seating that they’re going to need. If I were an ATP and I were getting that person a [CRT] cushion for their chair,
I would want them sitting on that same surface for showering, bowel movements, those types of things.”
CUSTOMIZABILITY IN THE BATHROOM
The custom fitting that goes into a CRT client’s wheelchair and seating is also needed in the bathroom, Pang says.
“Compared to basic one-size-fits-all RSCC,” he says, “true rehab shower commode chairs provide more opportunities to reduce the effects of gravity on the client. ‘True rehab’ shower commode chairs, like their wheelchair counterparts, are prescribe-able, modular and adjustable. Prescribe-able means a chair can be uniquely configured to meet an individual’s specific needs; modular means it can be reconfigured in the field to
accommodate changes in medical conditions; adjustable means it can be precisely fitted to the client, like a well-tailored suit.”
Topics routinely discussed during CRT assessments, such as seat-to-floor heights and transfers, should also be part of bath and hygiene discussions, Lawrence says.
“Our Ocean chairs have height-adjust to adjust seat-to-floor height,” he notes. “If consumers are transferring from another surface — their wheelchair or a bed — they can take our chairs and raise them or lower them so they’re not having to go up or down a surface. Because that takes a lot out of somebody, having to transfer from uneven surfaces. And it’s dangerous. Not so much when you start [bathing], but when you’re getting out: You’re wet, and there are opportunities for falls and slipping.”
MOISTURE VS. SKIN HEALTH
Perspiration, humidity and bodily fluids are known to raise risk of skin breakdown, and thus are often discussed during seating evaluations. In bathrooms, moisture is unavoidable — as are soap and shampoo. Those usually benign substances can endanger consumers who spend a lot of time in contact with them.
“One of our products is geared completely for that,” Lawrence says. “We have a special soft seat for our Ocean shower chairs. It’s
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28 march 2017 | mobilitymanagement
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