UATP aids in effort to make sure wheelchairs are transported safely with patients

SLC mayor unveils wheelchair ramp trailers; UATP and UCAT help train firefighters on moving wheelchairs safely

SLC mayor's office ADA Coordinator Sarah Benj, center,
watches the trailer demonstration with
Mayor Jackie Biskupski as the trailers are demonstrated.

SALT LAKE CITY—This morning, Salt Lake City Mayor Jacki Biskupski unveiled two wheelchair lift trailers that will help emergency responders to transport not only wheelchair users who experience an emergency, but also their power wheelchairs.

“We want our community to be accessible to everyone,” she said. That includes ensuring that no one is left behind in an emergency—or that they have to do without the technology that helps them be independent.

“Wheelchairs are often a lifeblood to those who use them,” said Karl Lieb, Salt Lake City fire chief, during the unveiling event at City Hall. But the power chairs are also heavy, and they’ve presented a problem for firefighters who respond to an emergency. “It is a challenge,” Leib said. “I know what it takes to get these things located from point A to point B.” 

So does Tom Boman, UATP coordinator in Salt Lake City. “I don’t think as people without disabilities, we get the connection between equipment and independence,” he said. “If somehow our legs could be separated from us and someone went to a little extra effort to get them back to us, maybe we’d get it.”

Boman recently presented in a video training for the Salt Lake City Fire Department, helping explain how to move a power wheelchair that has been turned off. It’s important information because when a person who is not familiar with a power wheelchair moves it while the motor is engaged, it could end up damaging the chair.

It’s a different project, but both represent the effort to make sure chairs are moved safely from the site of an emergency to the hospital. The portable trailers helps ensure that the chair travels with the patient. The training helps protect the equipment and the people who operate it.

“We don’t want to break something that is going to be a financial burden on the patient,” Lieb said.

“This is amazing,” said Ken Reid, assistive technology specialist at the Utah Center for Assistive Technology. He attended the press event and watched with a smile. “Before, you left your chair at home. … It’s good to know they’re thinking about people with disabilities.”

Reid, who uses a wheelchair himself, coordinated the filming of the training video between UCAT, the SLC Fire Department and UATP in SLC. “I’m thankful that this happened. … We worked with UATP of Salt Lake. They had a bunch of wheelchairs that were from different manufacturers.” In the video, Boman demonstrated how to move several different types of wheelchairs. 

“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Boman said, “knowing that they’re making an effort to treat people’s equipment without damaging it.”

The city obtained the two ramp trailers after Sarah Benj, ADA coordinator for the SLC mayor’s office, researched how cities handled the transport of wheelchairs. Most cities she surveyed either didn’t transport the wheelchair, or they contracted with private companies. Salt Lake’s two wheelchair ramp trailers will be stationed at Station One and Station 11.

A wheelchair user herself, Benj went to the hospital several months ago. She had to leave her wheelchair behind, so she’s glad wheelchair users in the future will have better options.

“We’re hoping that other cities will see the same need and do the same thing,” she said.

Firefighters loaded a power wheelchair, secured it and covered it, preparing for transport.

Independence, unboxed: UATP small grant gives mobility

Scooter “will allow me to once again get out and enjoy life”

A small grant from UATP facilitated
the purchase of this scooter.

ST GEORGE--This thank you note regarding a small grant from the Utah Assistive Technology Program was reprinted with permission from Kathryn Naron.

Dear Lois,

Red Rock Center for Independence recently assisted me in applying for a Utah Assistive Technology Program small grant in the amount of $400 to go towards the purchase of an electric mobility scooter. I received word on Tuesday that the grant was approved, and the scooter was ordered today.

I want to thank you and all those who participated in the grant approval process. It means more to me than I can possibly describe, but I will try.

Prior to my retirement from the Foundation of Dixie Regional Medical Center in 2012, I enjoyed a full life in spite of pain stemming from multiple degenerative, inflammatory, and neurological ailments. After retirement, I tried to maintain a certain level of activity and sense of purpose by volunteering in the community, serving on boards or committees of several non-profit organizations, and being a member of a professional choir. 

However, over the past 5 years, my body continued to deteriorate and pain increased. The last two years brought mostly immobility. Dropping out of every activity I had previously enjoyed caused feelings of despair. Self-imposed isolation became increasingly frequent. I was unable to stand for more than a couple of minutes or walk any distance, and life came to a screeching halt.

The decision to go anywhere at all had to be measured by how far I would have to walk or stand in a line. More often than not, knowing how much pain I would endure prevented me from going. 

I purchased a used transport chair hoping to get out more, but that requires asking someone to push me. For an independent (and perhaps a little too prideful) woman, that’s a difficult ask. It was just easier to sit at home and mope.  

The UATF grant of $400 that facilitated the purchase of an electric mobility scooter will, singularly, allow me to once again be more functional at home, be active in the community, and to get out and enjoy life. I will not only regain mobility, but quality of life and a renewed sense of purpose.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, the deepest appreciation.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Naron

UATP appreciates its summer interns!

It’s summer at the Utah Assistive Technology Program—and that means we are enjoying a new crop of interns. Here’s a quick introduction.

Ray (right) works with volunteer Nick Wolford (far left) and employee Brandon Griffin.

Raymond Emmart, Logan

Raymond Emmart is a 14-year army veteran with a combat disability. After completing an associate’s in general technology, he is now a student at Utah State University working on a bachelor’s in tech systems with an emphasis on controls, robotics and automation. 

His internship in Logan is voluntary. He has put in more than 300 hours since May. The experience will look good on his resume, and more than that, he’s enjoyed it.

 “I’m having a lot of fun here,” he said. His work with the lab means that he is sometimes present when people receive a device that makes a difference in their lives. Recently he saw the reaction when a man received a wheelchair ramp and was almost in tears. “It’s very touching when you see stuff like that,” he said. 

Ray’s mother was a nurse, so he gained a lot of exposure to the disability field. The internship was the first time he worked in it himself, though. 

“His experience has been very beneficial here. He’s helped us streamline and get organized,” said Dan O’Crowley, Logan’s UATP coordinator. “He’s got a very good engineering mind, so when we tackle a project, he brings a lot to the table. He is good at looking at it from a different perspective, which can be very helpful. It’s been very nice not to have to train him.

“His background as a veteran has been very helpful as we’ve worked with them. He’s been able to connect with veterans because of that common experience.”

Noah operates at power drill at UATP in the Uintah Basin.

Noah Sadlier, Uintah Basin

Noah Sadlier started as a volunteer and is now a paid intern at UATP in the Uintah Basin. “I’m organizing tools and putting in new wheelchair batteries,” he said. “I’ve also been cleaning up, sweeping, taking out trash, vacuuming.”

He has learned to shine up an old wheelchair and take measurements, too. 

Noah comes to us through a partnership with the Community Employment Placement Program with the Uintah School District. The program teaches work, vocational and daily living skills to students and adults with disabilities. “Noah’s a very fast learner and he’s worked hard,” said Sarah Chandler, the program’s coordinator. “We’re really proud of him.”

“He is developing a comfort zone in knowing what needs to be done, and gets busy on his own,” said Cameron Cressall, UATP’s Uintah Basin coordinator. “He’s getting that confidence that he knows he’s doing a good job. I hope he realizes that it’s not just a job. He’s helping people. He gets to see the difference that he’s making in people’s lives."

Welcome. interns! 

UATP’s new Logan coordinator is a familiar face

Dan O'Crowley

The Utah Assistive Technology Program welcomes a new coordinator in Logan.

Dan O’Crowley started with UATP in the spring of 2016 as a volunteer in the AT Lab, then became a lab technician. He is now a junior in mechanical engineering at Utah State University.

“Growing up, I had a mind for mechanical engineering. I always thought I would go in that direction.” he said. “I realized at one point I wanted to work with people, not just objects. This lab has been a great combination of those two.”

Dan has already seen the difference assistive technology can make in people’s lives, both on the long- and short-term. “A lot of people come to the lab with a lot of frustration. It’s great to be able to have the tools on hand to solve that problem.”

Once, a man who broke his ankle came in after getting around on crutches for a week. “He was just exhausted, trying to do that,” Dan said. “At a sports event he saw someone else with a knee scooter, and then he came and borrowed another one out from us.”

UATP’s fabrication capabilities have also helped people with long-term needs. Dan and UATP volunteer Mike Stokes worked to make a 3-D printed prosthetic device for a child to help him color, paint and use an iPad. That ongoing project has helped the boy be successful at school, and he has taken the device home to use it there, too.

Chance paints using a 3D printed device
from UATP in Logan.

The Logan program is working with physical and occupational therapists to collaborate, use their expertise and offer solutions to clients, Dan said. The goal is to provide AT in affordable, practical ways to the people who need it.

“Generally speaking we prefer people to come to us,” Dan said. “If they’re a long distance away, we will try to Skype and work out most or as many of the details and plan sometime in the future to cross paths to transfer the device to them.”

For more information on UATP and its services, visit our website.

_____________________

Are you a Utahn with an assistive technology need? UATP has locations in Logan and the Uintah Basin that can help you find ways to maintain or improve your independence. Both locations also have a demonstration and loan library where items can be checked out, compared to similar devices and used before a purchase is made. Devices can also be refurbished, reused, customized and built from the ground up to suit a particular need.

UTAP’s Salt Lake City location focuses on putting refurbished mobility devices into the hands of people who need it, for a fee that is usually less than an insurance deductible. 

UATP also offers small grants and low-interest loans for the purchase of AT. This service is available to Utahns statewide.

Independent living center serves more people, thanks to UATP

Ricardo Mora received a chair from UATP in
Salt Lake City, through a referral from
Ability 1st. It raises and lowers, which helps him
access the higher-up items in his house.

PROVO—Independent living center staff members know the pattern: receive assistive technology budget money once a year, use it to help as many clients as possible. When it’s gone, it’s gone—and often they run out of money before they run out of budget year. 

But Kathy Tucker and Shelly Lund at Ability 1^st in Provo have found ways to keep providing mobility devices to people who need them, even after the money runs out. The Utah Assistive Technology Program has played a big part in that strategy.

“Tom’s a lifesaver,” said Kathy, who is the equipment manager at Ability 1^st. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be able to help as many people throughout the year.”

Tom coordinates UATP’s Salt Lake City location, which focuses specifically on mobility equipment. His shop receives donated wheelchairs, refurbishes them and transfers them to people who need them for an affordable fee. The cost is usually less than an insurance deductible.

Shelly, the center’s assistive technology coordinator, said they have often used both small grants and equipment from UATP in Salt Lake City to help clients receive a refurbished wheelchair. Sometimes the clients don’t have insurance. Sometimes they do, but they need a loaner chair so that they can get where they need to go while waiting for the necessary medical and insurance approvals—which can take months.

One family had been so tapped out by medical bills that they could not afford the deductible on a new chair for a ten-year-old girl with a chronic illness. They turned to UATP’s small grant program for funding, and to UATP in Salt Lake City for a chair.

“I know the mom was really happy that Tom was able to find a color of the chair that she liked,” Shelly said.

They referred another client, Ricardo Mora, to UATP. Now he has a motorized chair that lifts him so he can reach the cupboards in his kitchen. 

Clients have also been able to use devices from the Ability 1^st loan bank, thanks to help from UATP. It started years ago, when the independent living center swapped several broken-down chairs for one working, refurbished one.  “That’s how we were able to loan out equipment,” said Kathy. “That helped out because sometimes I wouldn’t have power wheelchairs for months.”

People now donate equipment to the center, but sometimes it needs some help to get working properly. Tom has helped with that, too, either parting out wheelchairs that are not usable or talking them through repairing a chair that can still be used. “If there’s a power chair and it’s not running, a lot of time we can call Tom and he can tell us what’s wrong with it,” Kathy said. It helps a lot when they don’t have the budget money to send a chair to a vendor for repairs.

He has helped train them on basic wheelchair repairs as well—and they’ve passed that knowledge on to clients.

“They’ve been really good to partner with,” said Tom from his office in Salt Lake City. “They’re good at helping us follow up with clients in that area and exchanging information.” 

They have also donated equipment to UATP in Salt Lake—chairs he can refurbish or part out. “They collaborate with us pretty well.”