Page 13 - Mobility Management, May/June 2021

Bill Russell, Alber’s Director of Sales, said, “One of the things that we train all of our reps to do: If you’re called in to do a SMOOV evaluation, don’t just take the SMOOV in with you. You need plan B and C. Somebody may want or think the SMOOV is the right product for them, but you can find out they don’t have the strength or the hand function to be able to steer or stop a system like the SMOOV.
“We can come in with four different products in one eval if we need to, and we can determine which product is best suited for
that person. They get a chance to try them all, they get a chance to determine along with the therapist and the ATP to make that right choice. This is something they have to live with for the next five years. I’ve talked to way too many people that were told, ‘This is the product you need’ or ‘This is the product you get.’ And they find out that in the places they want to use it, it doesn’t work for them, and now they don’t have any recourse to get another product.”
Today’s power-assist lineups also vary greatly in appearance. The e-motion and twion from Alber; the QUICKIE Xtender from Sunrise Medical; and the NaviOne from Yamaha are in-wheel systems. Alber’s SMOOV one, Permobil’s SmartDrive MX2+, and Spinergy’s ZX-1 attach and detach to the backs of manual wheelchairs. Batec and Cheelcare devices attach to the front of the wheelchair and have a decidedly powersports appearance.
Having more choices could help to overcome power-assist reluctance, especially among younger wheelchair users.
“There’s certainly part of the psychology, that some people are resistant to it. I think in the past, it’s been this antiquated thinking that pushing a manual chair keeps you in shape and keeps you healthy. Yes, you’re going to expend calories to move yourself. But there’s a huge trade-off. You should never look at your wheelchair and your mobility as an exercise device. You should look at it as your mobility device, as how you get from point A to point B. If you want to exercise, go to a gym, lift weights, work your arms and shoulders.
“Going to power assist — changing out wheels or looking at the SMOOV — I think has really changed people’s thinking of what power assist can do for them. It’s not a full-time product all the time. They can use it as needed, and some of these products permit them to use them when they want to and when they need to.”
POWER ASSIST AS A PROACTIVE RECOMMENDATION
As an occupational therapist, Merring said he absolutely sees opportunities to recommend power assist proactively, before injuries and pain set in.
“As soon as I determined that you needed a manual
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