Everything you need to know about renting mobility equipment

Everything you need to know about renting mobility
equipment during the holidays.
By Lauren Davenport • November 17, 2014
G
uest blogger: Gordon Raney, Certified Aging in
Place Specialist (CAPS) and owner of
101 Mobility of Dallas, Ft. Worth, Tulsa, Oklahoma
City, and Little Rock—shares his experiences with
renting mobility equipment for loved ones over the
holidays.
With all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season,
it’s easy to forget about making sure your guests are
fully accommodated. If you have a loved one that may
struggle getting up the stairs or around your home,
renting accessibility equipment could be just the solution you need. That’s where we come in!
on your specific needs, a little advanced planning
and an in-home evaluation may be needed. Most
base model stair lifts have a carrying capacity within
the 300 pound range.
At 101 Mobility, we sell, rent, and install a wide range
of accessibility equipment. With 46 locations, our
brand is nationally recognized as one of the best in
the industry. We specialize in equipment such as
stair lifts, auto lifts, vertical platform lifts, ceiling lifts,
and wheelchair ramps. As a full-service provider of
this equipment, we have several stair lift makes and
models ready to go in our warehouses. This allows us
to provide products to our clients for short and longterm rentals around the holiday season (or any time of
year, should you need it!).
Wheelchair Ramps
Nearly everyone has at least a step or two to their
front porch or from the driveway, preventing someone
with limited mobility from visiting or safely accessing
Key considerations when evaluating
a product rental:
Stair Lifts
A stair lift is certainly the
easiest way to safely move
someone with mobility challenges up a flight of stairs. The
installation can be completed
within a few hours with minimal to no permanent damage
to the existing staircase and
no drilling into the walls. The
stair lift is attached to the
treads of the stairs, so upon
removal, stairs that are carpeted will hide screw holes
much easier than a set of hardwood stairs. There are
varying weight capacities of stair lifts, so depending
your home. A wheelchair ramp is the easiest solution.
It’s a good idea to be aware of the amount of ramp
needed for your particular situation. Commercial/ADA
code details that for every inch of rise, there needs
to be a foot of ramp. Most steps are in the 6-8 inch
height range, so a person with only two steps would
typically need between 12 to 16 feet of ramp for safe
access. This may vary depending on whether your
visitor is using a walker, manual wheelchair, or power mobility device. Your 101 Mobility representative
can help you determine the appropriate ramp length
needed to accommodate visitors during your in-home
evaluation.
continued...
Portable wheelchair
ramps, also known as
“suitcase ramps,” are
ramps that can easily be
taken up and put down for
a single time use. These
ramps come in varying sizes up to 10 feet in length,
so they are mostly suited for short obstructions
like 1-2 steps or a street
curb. Larger vertical rises
can be traversed with our
aluminum modular ramps.
Modular ramps come in
numerous shapes and
sizes and can be custom
configured to suit virtually
any situation.
Vertical Platform Lift
(also known as a VPL
or porch lift)
When space is too limited for the recommended
ramp length, a portable
vertical platform lift may be
an option and would allow
someone in an occupied
wheelchair to access the
area. We often rent our
portable vertical platform lift
for situations such as weddings, conventions, graduations, and events where there is a stage. This lift can
also installed next to a porch and provide the same
service for a person in a scooter or wheelchair.
Patient Lifts (also
known as ceiling
lifts)
Patient and ceiling lifts
can be assembled in
a few hours and are
often most useful over
beds. They’re also
instrumental for helping
individuals transfer to/
from their bed and their
wheelchair. Despite the
name “ceiling lift,” there
are versions of overhead patient lifts that can be used
without any attachment to the home. Portable “Hoyer
Style” lifts are also common and can be used to transfer individuals around the home.
Wheelchair,
scooter, and auto
lift rentals
Our 101 Mobility
dealers around the
country may also
rent additional items
such as wheelchairs,
scooters, and auto
lifts for transporting
these items. Before
a loved one lugs
their heavy mobility
equipment across
the country for the holidays, check with your local 101
Mobility dealer to see if a rental option is available.
Reserve your rental today!
At 101 Mobility, we have customers reserving equipment for the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas
as early as the summer months. Remove any unnecessary holiday related stress by reserving your rental
equipment early!
We aim to exceed our customer’s expectations and will work hard to match each request with the ideal rental
unit. Unfortunately, customers that call on Christmas morning (and yes, we answer our phones then to be
available for our customers’ needs) are often too late. So, as you make your holiday plans this year, be sure
to consider family and friends that may need assistance traversing your porch stairs or the stairwell inside
your home. Remember that your local 101 Mobility dealers can assist as you accommodate your loved ones
this holiday season!
To learn more about how to accommodate loved ones with disabilities over the
holidays, check out this blog post. - http://101mobility.com/blog/holiday-hostess-with-the-mostess-how-to-accommodate-visitors-with-disabilities/
Copyright © 101 Mobility 2014 All Rights Reserved.
No part of this article may be reproduced without 101 Mobility’s express consent.
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