Helpful Articles

Knowing the Signs: Seniors and Assisted Living 0

Millions of Americans live alone in the United States today. While a good portion of these people are healthy, independent, and able to handle the demands of running a home, many others are not. If you are a caregiver for someone in this latter category, you may be wondering if living at home is still the best option. But how, exactly, do you know if it’s time to initiate a conversation about assisted living? 

Visit Dansons Medical for high-quality medical and accessibility equipment. 

Care Options

It is important to first know that assisted living is not necessarily your only option. Independent living may be a more palatable experience for seniors with a need for autonomy. According to Modern Retirement, independent living provides basic services, such as housing, housekeeping, and meal preparation. This type of assistance can help overall healthy and active seniors remain that way for years to come. Assisted living is similar; however, seniors in this type of community also have access to more hands-on care, such as assistance bathing, medication management, and managing most daily tasks. In many cases, you can find a continuing care community that will allow the senior to seamlessly transition from independent to assisted living.

Look Out For Warning Signs

It’s an unfortunate reality, but some seniors are embarrassed or even in denial about their inability to live alone. They may be remiss to answer questions about how they’re doing. As a caregiver, you’ll need to evaluate their situation without being overbearing. Look for warning signs, which include:

• Worsening health problems. This includes mobility issues, such as severe arthritis, emotional problems, like depression, and cognitive decline up to and including Alzheimer’s.

• Declining hygiene and cleanliness. All the above health problems might leave a senior unable to handle their hygiene or maintain the cleanliness of their home. While there’s nothing alarming about a coffee cup in the sink or using dry shampoo instead of taking a full shower every once in a while, body odor, outdated food in the refrigerator, and unmanaged pest problems are red flags.

• Worsening abilities on the road. The idea of losing driving privileges is terrifying to most older adults. But, as On Health asserts, some issues, such as mobility, vision, and hearing troubles, can all make it dangerous for a senior to get behind the wheel. If your loved one can no longer safely navigate the streets or public transportation, assisted living may be on the horizon.

Other potential problems to look out for include aggressiveness, neglected pets, isolation, and whether they have a network of friends and family that can step in when you are unavailable.

It’s Time to Talk

Only you know your loved one’s personality. Keep this in mind as you initiate the conversation. It’s almost always best to plant the proverbial seeds early, enlist the help of your siblings, aunts, uncles, and their same-age friends, and find out what they love so much about their home. When you finally bring up the possibility of assisted living, make sure they have nothing but a positive image, lots of support, and reassurance that they will get to bring the best of their current life with them.

It’s not going to be easy, but making sure a loved one is in the right situation for their mental, physical, and cognitive health is paramount to their quality of life. If you’re looking for further resources, the links below are great touch points that can help you get the process started when the time is right.

One Is the Loneliest Number: Combating Senior Isolation

Dementia Symptoms, Causes, Types, Stages, and Treatments

Home Proceeds Calculator

How to Make Seniors Feel at Home in a New Living Space

Forms Needed to Act on a Loved One’s Behalf

Author: Lydia Chan

Lydia is the co-creator of Alzheimer’s Caregiver, a website that aims to provide tips and resources to help caregivers. Her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Lydia found herself struggling to balance the responsibilities of caregiving and her own life. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experiences with caregivers and seniors. In her spare time, Lydia finds joy in writing articles about a range of caregiving topics.

6 Best Patient Lifts for Home Use 0

Patient lifts—medical devices for lifting and transferring patients from place to place—have enormous benefits for the well-being of both patients and caregivers.

For individuals with limited mobility, moving even short distances can be a major challenge. These movements pose injury risks for the person being moved as well as the person doing the lifting.

Fortunately, great progress has been made in developing lifts that safely meet the needs of patients and caregivers. Using a variety of technologies, configurations, and materials, there are some incredible lifts on the market today that are suitable for home use.

These devices improve mobility, reduce injury, and maximize the comfort and dignity of those that need them.

The Dansons Medical team is here to help you find solutions to your home health medical equipment challenges. We know how difficult it can be for both patient and caregiver to adjust to major changes in medical needs and physical abilities.

That’s why we’re here to help however we can. If you need a patient lift, we offer a premier selection along with the fastest and most reliable service that we can provide.

In this guide, we’ll review the two primary categories of lifts: electric and hydraulic lifts.

Looking for a lift for home use? We’ll highlight a few of the best offerings from each category, but be sure to view our entire patient lift inventory before making your choice.  

Electric Patient Lifts

An electric patient lift works via battery power. The operator can simply press a button to mobilize the device. That means relief from heavy exertion and pain while maneuvering a patient transfer.

Battery power also eliminates the presence of a power cord during the use of the device. No power cord in the way means that it’s easier to complete a lifting movement without tripping or needing to stop to move the cord.

Here are a few top-of-the-line electric patient lifts: 

BestLift PL350CT

BestLift PL350CT

The BestLift PL350CT was designed as an electric lift with a battery option. It’s portable and foldable, making it extremely transportable. The key features are as follows:

• 350lb Capacity
• Convertible/Portable
• Electric System
• Compatible with most plastic clip slings

Its unique spreader bar is the reason why it's one of the only patient lifts in the market right now with a spreader bar specifically designed for easy patient handling from a car.

Invacare Jasmine Full Body Lift

Invacare JASMINE Full Body Lift

The Invacare Jasmine Full Body Lift is made from lighter-weight aluminum and steel, allowing for easier transportation. The key features are as follows:

• Battery-powered
• 500lb capacity
• 6-point hanging bar
• Powered boom and base controlled by hand pendant

The Jasmine includes a rotating 6-point hanger bar for assisting patients that have fallen. The base presents a wide opening so that caregivers can comfortably walk behind the patient while a wheelchair can be accommodated up front. 

Hoyer Presence Professional Patient Lif

Hoyer Presence Professional Patient Lift

The Presence’s Smart Monitor technology displays lifting activity to help drive user compliance. The Presence can lift patients from the floor, accommodate transfers to higher surfaces, and manage a 500lb working load.

Versatility, strength, and even smart technology make the Hoyer Presence Professional Patient Lift stand out among lift devices. Here are the key features:

• Battery-powered
• Smart Monitor technology 
• Intuitive Pushpad for assisting with movement initiation
• Swan Neck style legs to allow the lift to move closer to the patient
• Low Leg Option Kit for fitting under beds and other spots with low clearance
• Easy to use powered base
• 6-point cradle
• Ergonomic foot pad to make initial movement easier
• Hand clip control for holding the pendant in place

This lift is great for larger patients. It’s a dynamic device, capable of several adjustments to make life easier for patients and caregivers. Cutting-edge design features and technology make the Presence an impressive tool that can provide major quality of life improvements for its users.

Hydraulic Patient Lifts

A hydraulic patient lift is operated manually by the use of a hand crank or push lever. After lifting the patient, the operator can move the patient using the lift’s wheels, then lower them down when ready.

Hydraulic lifts are more hands-on than electric lifts, as human power is required during the movement phases of patient transfers. However, the cranks and levers are typically easy to use without great exertion, thanks to the use of hydraulics.

There are two more benefits to choosing a hydraulic lift: they tend to be priced lower than electric lifts, and they do not require electricity, allowing for worry-free operation during a power outage.

If you’re new to patient lifts, it’s perfectly natural to be a bit intimidated by the concept of hydraulic lifts. Fortunately, many people have gone through the same learning process. There’s lots of great info out there to help guide you.

See the video below to get a better idea of what lifting a patient manually with a hydraulic lift looks like:

It’s easier than you’d think to move a person’s weight with a hydraulic lift. That’s because the hydraulic fluid is doing much of the work for you.

Here are three excellent hydraulic patient lifts to consider: 

BestLift PL400H Hydraulic

BestLift PL400H Hydraulic

The innovative BestLift PL400H is a great first lift and can be upgraded at any time to an electric lift. Here are the basic specifications for the PL400H:

• Hydraulic system
• 400lb capacity
• Convertible and portable
• 6-point spreader bar

This model is stable, durable, and can be disassembled with ease. It’s a good model for users looking for their first lift as the need for patient transfers enters their lives. When desired, an electric kit can upgrade the model to become an electric lift. 

Hoyer Advance Folding Lift

Hoyer Advance Folding Lift

The Hoyer Advance Folding Lift is available in both electric and hydraulic models. With the hydraulic model, the operator uses a hydraulic pump for manual raising and lowering of the lift.

Here are some key product details for the Advance Folding Lift:

• Electric system or hydraulic system
• 340lb capacity
• Lightweight, aluminum material
• Swan Neck style legs to allow the device to move closer to the patient

This lift is foldable and lightweight, so it’s extra portable in comparison to some other lifts. Caretakers can fold it up, roll it out of the house, and place it in the car trunk to take it anywhere.

The Hoyer Advance also features a versatile leg design that allows it to maneuver closely around obstacles, which helps for safe and easy transfers. 

Invacare 9805P Hydraulic Lift

Invacare 9805P Hydraulic Lift

The Invacare 9805P Hydraulic Lift has a simple design that’s easy to understand and operate. Here are the basic details for this model:

• Hydraulic system
• 450lb capacity 
• Convertible and portable 
• 6-point spreader bar

The 9805P allows for 360-degree rotation without side-to-side swaying. Its broad height range allows patients to be lifted from various positions, and its low-friction casters allow for smooth movements.

This lightweight lift is easy to set up, disassemble, and transport. 

Making Patient Transfers as Easy as Possible 

Operating a patient lift can be scary at first. But, thanks to amazing advances in lift technology, it’s so much easier than it used to be to help dependent patients move around and live their best lives.

Your home is not a hospital, but that doesn’t mean it can’t contain cutting-edge medical technology. Thanks to affordable prices and convenient storage options, the lift device you need is within reach for home use.

Let Dansons Medical connect you to the patient lift and other home medical technologies that you need. View our full patient lift selection today, including electric patient lifts, hydraulic patient lifts, slings, and lift parts.

You’ll get free standard shipping on any product shipped domestically to the mainland United States. Most products will be received within 3-5 business days after they’ve been shipped.

Visit our FAQ to learn more or contact us with any questions.

Bestcare - What System Does My Patient Lift Use? 0

You can understand what system your lift uses by looking at its serial number.

Here's an example of a Serial Number: SA600EL17050100

 Please use the following guide to understand your serial number:

TiMotion System

If the customers have a Production plant number of 1 or 2 they WILL have newer TiMotion electronic system and will require those parts.

Performance and Legacy System

We introduced the Performance system in the 3^rd quarter of 2013. So, from Sept 2013 to January 2017, we were selling both lifts with Legacy and Performance systems. In 2017, we stopped selling Legacy lifts but do have dealers that stocked their own inventory so it’s possible a customer may order a lift later that same year and have older electronic. There were also many conversions between the two when inventory was low so for older lifts it will be best to makes sure they match up by their control box picture to distinguish between Performance and Legacy System.

For customers that have a Production plant number of 0 and Production year of 2012 or older they will most likely have Legacy electronics.

Bestcare - What Control Box / Charger / Hand Control / Batteries Do I Need For My Patient Lift? 0