Benay Britton | NSM Ft. Lauderdale at Caps of Love Grand Opening

Benay Britton from NSM #132, was out supporting Caps of Love's Re-Grand Opening.  Caps of Love is a local organization that recycles Caps, and uses the money to Buy and Re-Furbish Seating and Mobility Equipment.

NSM Ft. Lauderdale has been involved with helping Caps of Love, with equipment service and repairs.  Caps of Love is truly an asset in our community helping make South Florida better.

The Fort Lauderdale Office of National Seating and Mobility, is located in Pompano Beach, Florida and covers Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County. It's focus it to Make Every Day Independence Day through seating and mobility equipment. 

Powered Wheelchairs- Driving Options

Although the Wheelchair has not significantly changed over the past 10 years, the technology that allows them to operate has.  There is a saying in our company, if a person has any consistent independent movement and the desire, we will get them mobile. 

Even with all the negative pressures in the Medical industry, innovation is no longer limited by the big four wheelchair producers. There are many switch and electronic companies that lead the charge in offering more creative ways to drive powered mobility.  Additionally many universities have gotten involved and have been stretching the options....from using an Ipad, eyegaze and video game controllers to EEG, and Voice Control.

Traditionally the joystick has been used to operate a powered wheelchair. When users could not control a joystick, there was switch control and sip and puff.  Later head control using proximity switches and modified head joysticks.  Modifying a joystick to be mounted on a arm or footrest was common.  In the past decade, fiber optics, magitek, light touch joystick has been used. More recently game controllers (ie PS4 and Xbox) have been converted to allow individuals to drive their powered wheelchairs with these systems. Many of the new technologies that are emerging are adapters, and supports to hold current control devies.

In the past few years, we have seen the Wii balance board used as a input device for children who when lean, can control a powered wheelchair.  Although this is not yet in the market place it certainly offers a wider range of options for those who have limitations in access or those who do not understand movement through space.   We are seeing many universities experiment with EEG as when you communicate and think, the waves are consistent and can be converted into a signal in which to drive a powered wheelchair.  Speech communication has also been used to drive a powered wheelchair.   Most recently, a university has been piercing people's tongues using it as a way to drive a powered wheelchair.

Unfortunately most of these newer technologies have not yet become commercially available or even made it through FDA consideration.  All these technologies are exciting for people who have lost the ability to move independently.  It is truly exciting to see more and more options available which will allow more access and integration.

We are really excited to see people thinking outside the traditional box, and are  looking forward to these new technologies that will enable more people to drive and be independent.

This Article was written by Carey Britton, he can be reached at cbritton@wheelchairguys.com  or at 954-946-5793.

Father’s Day, a Day to Appreciate Dad.

I am sitting here reflecting on My Dad who I lost a year after He and I started South Florida Mobility Inc. D/B/A Active Mobility Center in 1992.  My Dad was an electrician by Trade, and was able to teach me a lot about mechanical and electrical equipment., which I use every day.  I was lucky to have a Dad and Family that gave me the opportunity to succeed and find my passion in helping others maximize their abilities. It was my Dad who found a Medical Equipment business for sale, when I was dismayed about medical school. 

On this Father’s Day, spend some time reflecting on how your Dad has made you better, and appreciate what you have. 

Happy Father’s Day from Active Mobility Center. 

Repetative Strain Injury

This type of injury is becoming more and more prevalent in our society, from carpal tunnel syndrome to shoulder injuries suffered by a growing number of aging individuals in manual wheelchairs. It has always been the stance of medical professionals and insurance carriers to limit the ability of walking impaired to manual wheelchairs as their principle means of mobility. It makes sense that if you are walking impaired, that your calorie burn to intake ration is less, and using a manual wheelchair will help burn more calories, and help keep the user physically fit.

As these clients who were prescribed only manual wheelchairs for their mobility are aging, many are finding themselves having severe pain in the shoulders, which is being diagnosed as repetitive strain injuries. In addition to propelling their wheelchair throughout the day, within their homes, into the community and workplaces; medical professionals are realizing that the human shoulder has limited capacity for these functions.

The movements of pushing a wheelchair, compounded with independent transfers, and daily routines it generally too much for the human shoulder to handle.

It has always been my belief that there is a balance between manual and powered mobility for individuals who are confined to a wheelchair, and dependent for their mobility. From a mobility stance, having the ability to use manual mobility within the home and work place, as the chairs are smaller and more maneuverable is certainly an advantage. Manual wheelchair burn more calories, reducing the potential for excess weight gain; and increases strength allowing for independent transfers. Powered wheelchairs allow a user to travel across greater distances, which put users at risk for repetitive strain injuries.

Repetitive strain injuries can cost funding sources tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention loss of employment to the wheelchair user. This loss could be simply reduced by providing both a manual wheelchair, and powered system to long term users of mobility aids. It would make sense (and reduce costs) by providing this equipment to specific diagnosis; that generally develop these types of injuries.

A possible solution to save money and benefit the wheelchair population, would be to provide both types of equipment; and prompt an education program for potential injury groups to explain the benefits of using both types of equipment; thereby reducing medical care costs, and risk of obesity from inactivity.

This article was provided by Carey Britton, ATP/SMS, CRTS from Active Mobility Center, located in Pompano Beach, FL. He can be reached at 954-946-5793 or cbritton@wheelchairguys.com

Thinking Out Side the Box.

It amazes me how many times I hear clients tell me that their old equipment suppliers/providers told them NO it couldn’t be done. For many industries this may be the case, but for our industry, the custom seating and positioning industry; telling people NO, can mean the difference of independence, or the equipment not being used.

Of course our company says NO, when it liability or safety is a concern; but we offer our client’s the option to customize their equipment to the extent is makes their lives easier or more independent.

Our company advertises its ability to provide custom mobility and seating equipment. If we advertise this we must be able to deliver. Our company continues to offer off the shelf products when needed, offering molded seating systems, customized seating frames, tilt in space, recline, elevating seat, and standing options.

To further our out side of the box thinking, we have the ability to add, specialty lighting to equipment. Many of our clients are children and young adults who were robbed of the ability to own, customize and drive a car. We have been offering neon and other lighting packages to accessorize their rides. Kicking it up a notch, or octave is mounting stereo systems, amplifiers, and speaker systems to the chairs for the entertainment of themselves and their peers.

A new addition, has been adding rear view camera and display systems for clients who have difficulty seeing behind the chair. For may wheelchair users, there is a big blind spot behind their chairs. We have been offering a camera that mounts to the rear of the chair which is attached to a LCD screen on the front of the chair to enable clients to see what is behind them.

Our company still strives at providing systems that fit, and interact with it’s users. We challenge ourselves everyday in enabling our clients; maximizing their abilities!!!!

This article was provided by Carey Britton, Seating and Mobility Specialist for Active Mobility Center, he can be reached at 954-946-5793 or at cbritton@wheelchairguys.com

Running Out of the Gate

2014 is here, and things are not slowing down.  Active is looking at the industry as the glass is half full, and where there is great opportunity.  We are seeing many national companies buying up local companies and intimidating the local providers like Walmart.  Insurance is changing, and we are now learning the affects of Obama Care.  There is constant pressure to change, and the staff at Active are embracing this not to ensure survival but to become better.

Over the next few months, our customers and partners will see some major changes. Our office is having some renovations to increase it's display space, increase the retail and accessories available to our customers.  We are improving our inventory management system. A face lift on our website will be completed by February to offer a more friendly site to navigate and access the information.  An event calendar will be added and will show local and regional activies, and events to allow the community more involvement.  You will see a higher level of community visability and involvement. More interaction between our customers and business partners to help us become more valuable to the community and remove any inefficiences. Last but not Least, we will be adding more FUN.  We understand that the Medical Equipment business can be sterile and we want to improve the experience not only for our customers but also for our staff.

We realize change is occuring with or without us, and understand that we need to be ahead of the curve to ensure that we are here for our customers, partners and health care professionals.  We also know that what we do is very personal and that our customer wants a company who listens, who cares, who is local, and who will be there to support and educate them.

Thank you for your continued support. We understand that there is a choice for Medical Equipment and know we have to continue to earn your business and referrals.  Please continue to send in comments or suggestions on how we can continue to improve to be your number 1 choice.

This article was written by Carey J. Britton, ATP/SMS, CRTS from Active Mobility Center. Active Mobility Center, located in Pompano Beach, Florida provides and supports; seating, mobility and specialty rehab equipment.  Carey can be reached at (954) 946-5793 or at cbritton@wheelchairguys.com .

Adaptive Car Seats

This week, we were fortunate to have Debra Britton provide a presentation on Car Seat Positioning Equipment. This is a regular training program at Active Mobility Center to promote and educate products to the staff, customers and professionals. If you have an interest in any specific products or services, let our office know so you can receive an invite to the programs.

Car seats are essential and mandatory for small children in motor vehicles. As children grow, or have seating and positioning needs greater than a off the shelf carseat, an Adaptive Car Seat may be necessary.  Off the shelf car seats have been crash tested as they sit so it is not recommended to add any foam/changes to these systems. Although this may work well, it changes the product and places any legal responsibility on this person in the event an accident arises.

Car Seats can be a challenge for parents with special needs, as they are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance carriers. Medicare (Sadmerc) determined coding, and Car Seats as a transportation device and used outside the home are not covered items.  It is important to note that there are alternative funding sources that may be able to help.

Car Seats are more safe than transporting children in their primary mobility systems (ie. wheelchairs) even if transport brackets are added. Transport Brackets, also not funded through most insurance, although allow a place to strap a wheelchair into a bus or van, are not intended, as stated in their owner's manuals, with the use to be seated in the chair while it is strapped down.  Tie downs are a topic for another presentation. 

There are several products available for this purpose including products from; Columbia Medical, Convaid, SnugSeat, and Thomashilfin.  These products should not be looked at as a one product fits all, and each have certain benefits which can help a particular child.

Car Seats

The Traveller Plus EL, Carrie, Hippo, and IPS are all adaptive Car Seats. These system are similar to off the shelf systems, but are larger, and offer more padding and support to provide support and stability for a special needs child/adult.  These systems allow for a 30 pound to over 100 pound person to use them with the abililty to adjust many of them in seat depth. Some of these offer foot supports and some allow the feet to hang.

Booster Car Seats

This category comprised of the Recaro, and Pilot offer another option for support and adjustability. These systems look more like the off the self booster / car seat systems. They work really well, but have limitations in width adjustment.

More Supportive Car Seats

Recently the Carrot and Spirit systems have entered the market, offering supports similar to what you would see in a wheelchair in a car seat. For larger and involved clients needing extensive support; these systems may be the answer.

Common Questions

How do I know what product to Pick?
These products range from $500 to several thousand depending on the options and needs. Choosing a product should include the assistance of a Physiatrist, Physical or Occupational Therapist and a Seating Specialist. Since this equipment is expensive, you do not want to waste valuable resources on the wrong product.

Where do I get these products?
Most Seating and Mobility companies stock Demo's of these products and can assist you in trialing them for fit, and helping make recommendations after discussing the vehicle and assessing the patient with a therapist or physician.

Who Installs these products in my vehicle?
This is getting more difficult due to our litigious society.  There are certified people in the community who install car seats and should be consulted if after reading the directions you have any concerns or questions.

We want to Thank Debra for providing an outstanding training program and look forward to her next topic.  This article was re-written by Carey Britton, Seating Specialist for Active Mobility Center. Carey can be reach at (954) 946-5793 or at cbritton@wheelchairguys.com .

 

New From Permobil 3 G Corpus Seating

Benay and Brad

Permobil's Brad Hannan, was in the house on 09/11/2013 to present on the new 3G Corpus Seating system. Permobil was created back in 1963 by Dr. Per Uddénin in a basement in Sweeden, After massive interest, in 1966 the Permobil company was created. Permobil was founded on their Front Wheel Drive Platform, and now offers chairs in Front, Mid and Rear Wheel Drive configurations.

Fifty (50) Percent of the chairs delivered are Front Wheel Drive with Forty (40) percent Mid Drive and Ten (10) percent being Rear Wheel Drive.

Front Wheel Drive (C300, C400, C500)
* Tighter Foot Position                                   * Maneuverable               
* Better Reach by User to Environment         * Better Climbing

Mid Wheel Drive ( M300, M400, M300 HD)
* Intuitive Design-Similar to walking
* Maneuverable
* Turns on this Axis

Rear Wheel Drive (C350, Street)
* Most Powerful                 * Rugged / Outdoor Chair
* Fastest Configuration

Permobil is known for it's Power Seating offering Power Tilt, Powered Recline, Powered Legrest, Powered Seat Elevator and Power Standing. Standing capabilities which is currently only availble on the C400 Jr. and C500 Front Drive Powered Wheelchairs. These chairs allow stand and drive function. 

Adjustable Seat Frame

The 3 G Seating is now being offered and is a huge improvement from the 2G Corpus Seating. These chairs are now offered lower (17 1/2"),

with the following improvements.

* Flat Seat Pan- no longer have to modify cushions to achieve proper fit
* Anterior Tilt Option- ability to tilt seat with forward tilt to help with  
   transfers or a more active body position.
* 175 Degrees of Recine- allow more reclined position
* 5" of Sliding Back- this reduces shear and allows for 10-20 degrees of
   recline when using molded seating.
* Legrests 170 Degrees with Articulation- which allows for more reclined
   position.
* Armrests- the new armrests are more durable and allow for more adjustability.
* 2 Piece Seating- which allows the seat to be a different width than the back allowing the arm
   position to be more anatomical.

Thanks to Brad from Permobil to help provide some education on Permobil and a thorough inservice to keep up to date to better serve our customers. This article was provided by Carey Britton, Seating Specialst for Active Mobility Center. He can be reached at 954-946-5793 or cbritton@wheelchairguys.com.

Special Needs Grocery Cart

Did you know there are grocery carts made for special needs children? I was recently made aware that a family who founded Parent Solution Group, LLC where they struggled with taking their child shopping to the grocery store. This is a regular problem I hear from families I work with and this could really help with everyday life.  Trying to push and navigate with  a wheelchair/stroller and grocery cart is challenging to impossible, making families make arrangements to make a  trip to the store.

A local South Florida Publix is testing a special needs shopping cart at 1180 Royal Palm Beach Blvd. Store #362 on the corner of Okeechobee Blvd.. The phone # is 561-790-4802. They are... using Caroline's Carts, which enables you to put a larger disabled child into a special seat on the front of the cart. You can see the cart at their website http://www.carolinescart.com/. Please tell your friends an families know about this important test, if we don't prove a need, then obviously they won't put them in other stores! See the store manager and ask for one in your home store.

 

This article was provided by Carey J. Britton, Seating and Mobility Specialist, for Active Mobility Center and can be reached at (954) 946-5793 or cbritton@wheelchairguys.com.

History of the Wheelchair

There are reports of wheeled chairs going back to the 6th Century in China found on stone tablets. The idea of the wheelchair has been around since the day's of King Louis XIV, who used a chair with wheels to get around his Kingdom. In 1595 the Invalid's chair was made for Philip II of Spain.  In 1655, Stephen Farfler, a paraplegic watchmaker built a self-propelling chair on three wheels. In the Mid 1700's the first recorded  wheelchairs being used to carry the disabled, interesting these chairs were called Bath Chairs, as they were made in a place called Bath.  In 1869 there was a patent registered for a wheeled chair to help people returning from the Civil War. The war spurred the production of wooden wicker chairs bound with wheels to help the injured return to their lives.  

In 1869 there was a patent registered for a wheeled chair to help people returning from the Civil War.

In 1993, Herbert Everest broke his back in a mining accident. His good friend Harry Jennings, a mechanical engineer; together they invented the first folding wheelchair, designed from steel tubes. This allowed the chair to be lighter, more comfortable and much more mobile than previous designs. E&J (Everest and Jennings) was also much cheaper, easier to product and allowed the chair to get to a much larger population. This brand is still being provided today.

In the 1950's Everest and Jennings came up with the idea of a powered wheelchair. For people who could not self propel, adding motors to a manual wheelchair frame gave the freedom of getting around. These first chairs was made from a steel frame, with attached motors, belts and pulleys, and with a hand control that activated switches in the back of the chair that told the motors what to do.

In 1952, in England, the Stoke Mandeville Games took place where War War II veterans competed in a series of wheelchair games. This was the beginning of international wheelchair games. Due to these efforts, the wheelchair was re-created, and several categories of wheelchairs were created; from basketball, rugby, racing, tennis and more.

The designs were dramatically improved in the 1970's. Motion Designs, who became Quickie, made changes in design to both folding and rigid framed wheelchairs. These enhancements made these chairs lighter, and easier to maneuver; improving access and independence.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s several new companies spawned offering a new spin on these wheelchairs.  Several materials were tried to make chairs lighter, different grades of aluminum, carbon fiber, and titanium.

Until 2010, there were continued efforts to further technology and innovation.  With the wheelchair class, there are now several manufacturers making; companion wheelchairs, standard wheelchairs, light weight wheelchairs, ultra light wheelchairs, sports wheelchairs, reclining wheelchairs, tilt in space wheelchairs, lateral tilting wheelchairs, powered wheelchairs with a joystick and powered wheelchairs with controls ranging from no effort joysticks, to eye gaze control.

Now that the world is involved, there is no stopping innovation and technology. As other industry technologies arise, with the internet and manufacturing; the ability to share technologies will make these transformation much faster. We have seen in the last few years, computer game controls adapted to control powered wheelchairs. We have seen the touch pads from laptop computers be adapted to allow the finger to move / control the powered wheelchair.The use of even lighter Aluminum and Composite products to help improve the manual wheelchair.

We are watching the smartphone and tablet market boom, and watching mounts that will hold, and in some cases integrate with the powered wheelchairs.

In 2010, in the US, the federal government has instituted legislation that has slowed innovation due to the coverage determination for Medicare and other Insurances. Hopefully this is a speed bump, as with the babyboomers aging, there is still so much more needed and demanded from these products.

Since everyone deserves the opportunity for freedom and independence, the wheelchair will continue to evolve and improve.  Wheelchairs help those who cannot walk allow individuals to experience the quality of life that so many of us take for granted.

This article was written by Carey J.Britton, Assistive/Rehab Technology Supplier and Seating and Mobility Specialist for Active Mobility Center. He can be reached at cbritton@wheelchairguys.com or (800) 326-4463.