Page 13 - Mobility Management, June 2019

CRT Pro Sponsored Content by Merits Health Products
How Vehicle Securement
Can Impact PWC Choice
When considering a power wheelchair for a client with complex seating and mobility needs, you think about tilt, recline, seat elevation, and elevating legrests. You examine the client’s home and outdoor environments for tight spaces, narrow doorways, and rugged terrain, and you estimate how much ground the power chair will need to cover in a day.
But another key consideration is transportation — how the power chair will be taken from the client’s home to work, school, doctors’ appointments, homes of family members and friends, etc.
Bret Tracy, Regional Manager for Merits in the Eastern United States, said, “Transportation is one of the three major considerations when considering a power chair: indoor driving, outdoor driving and transportation.”
Here are key transportation factors to consider when recommending or selecting a power wheelchair.
What Is the Wheelchair’s Weight?
A power chair typically gets into a vehicle via lift or ramp. Either way, it’s critical to know the lift’s or ramp’s weight capacity and the weight of the power chair.
“For an exterior lift, your overall chair weight is crucial,” Tracy said. “A Class 3 hitch can hold up to 500 lbs. Typically, a vehicle lift weighs up to 150 lbs., which leaves 350 lbs. for a chair.” As an example, Tracy added that Merits’ Avid Rehab Vector power chair with three power positioning functions weighs 338 lbs.
While exterior wheelchair lifts carry unoccupied power chairs, ramps are usually used while the power chair is occupied: The wheelchair user or a caregiver typically drives the chair up the ramp. So it’s important to know the ramp’s weight capacity, as well as the weight of the power chair and the weight of the person driving the chair up the ramp.
Is the Power Chair Easy to Secure?
Many different people — from family members to profes- sional caregivers to public transit or school employees — could be called upon to secure the power wheelchair inside a vehicle. While it would be ideal for caregivers
to take their time while performing that task, we live in a time-stressed world. A power chair that makes secure- ment easy for caregivers could be one that’s more likely to be secured properly.
So it’s important to know how the chair should be secured inside a vehicle, and how easy it is to secure the
chair correctly. If the power chair’s size or specifications will require an out-of-the-ordinary securement process, it’s helpful to know this up front.
As another example, Tracy said, “Merits offers all rehab chairs standard with unoccupied tie downs. On top of this, five of our bases are pre-drilled for EZ Lock systems for occupied transportation. If your chair has a lower ground clearance, there are options for side-locking restraints like Hightower, which works with the [Merits] Vision Sport.”
How Does the Power Chair Maneuver Inside
the Vehicle?
Today’s accessible vehicle buyer can choose from full- size vans, minivans, SUVs... even modified pickup trucks! But for the first three vehicle types, as well as for public transit vehicles, maneuverability is key.
How do power wheelchair configurations — front-, mid-, and rear-wheel drive — compare when it comes to driving up a ramp, turning, and pulling into ideal posi- tions so the wheelchair user can transfer, if necessary, and so the power chair can be correctly positioned for securement?
“Mid-wheel-drive is always best for turning within a van,” Tracy said. “Front-wheel drive is superior for pulling into the van, but can be challenging to maneuver once you are in.”
Of course, every client is different, which is why working with a mobility dealer who’s an expert on accessible vehicles is ideal. But knowing some basics beforehand about transportation issues can impact power chair choice and can put you and your client on the right road, right from the start. m
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