Tools for Greater Mobility

Wheelchairs and scooters do wonders for a disabled person's mobility, but they are only part of the equation. To achieve more complete mobility, whether in the home or venturing out into everyday life, people needs other tools, such as various types of patient and vehicle lifts.

The fact that more people buy wheelchairs and scooters than lift and transfer devices suggests a missed opportunity, both on the part of the patient, who lacks the products that can help meet his or her mobility challenges, and on the part of the home medical equipment provider, who misses out on additional sales.

For example, the sales levels of scooters or power chairs and automotive lifts are rarely equal, says Todd Bick, national sales manager of Freedom Sciences, which supplies automotive lifts, mobility seats and mobility vehicle systems that aid in scooter or power chair transportation. "HME providers must find creative ways to sell one-for-one," Bick says.

"Using a power chair or a scooter is only part of maintaining mobility," agrees Brian Mills, lifts product manager, Pride Mobility Products Corp., whose Silver Star line includes exterior lifts, boom lifts and interior platform lifts for various automotive vehicle types. "The part that is usually overlooked is how to transport the power chair or scooter to and from work, to the mall or to a friend's house."

There is also an increasing need for in-home lift products. "We're noticing the trend is for patients to stay in their houses a lot longer [before going into nursing homes], and patient lifts are becoming an embedded part of that environment," says Fran Spidare, group product manager, patient transport, Invacare Corp., which offers mechanical and battery-powered full body and stand-assist patient lifts for the home environment.

HME providers are uniquely positioned to take a broad view of the various products a patient will need related to mobility and to "bundle" the solutions to suit that patient's needs. "HME providers are really good at being able to look at the complete home care plan to determine if a person would quality for a wheelchair, for a lift," Spidare says. "Providers should look at the full package of what a patient will need at home. That's how the HME provider becomes an integral part of what the community needs."