LaMissGirl,
I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but I have been having a hard time getting in touch with Cheryl (she has a new boyfriend, so she hasn't been home much).
I talked to her this morning, and asked her the follow-up questions about the lift.
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Is the cut-out sling opening big enough to be out of the way of urine, etc, when pottying? Does she find the lifts cumbersome? I'm sure it'll take some "getting used to" but I sure hope the lift will be simple & quick to use
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She said that the majority of the time, the patients are able to use the bathroom without getting any urine or anything else on the sling. On the rare occasion when there is a splash, the sling is washable. When I asked her if they had to be handwashed or put in the washing machine she had no idea because in her words "washing stuff is someone elses job".
She did say that the rare splashes all occur with the patients who have physical and cognative disablities. She said she has never had a splash problem with the patients who have physical disabilities only (with no cognative disabilities).
She also said that the hoyer is a bit cimbersome, but it's easy to get used to and she was able to learn how to use it very quickly. The home where she works has a few different types of lifts, and she prefers the hoyer because it is the easiest to use and the least cumbersome - she said that the other lifts usually require 2 staff people, but with the hoyer she feels comfortable using that herself without a second staff person.
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Once you transfer the patient into a wheelchair, for example, is it ok to leave the sling on while in the wheelchair? If not, how would you get it off?
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She said for this is depends on how long the patient will be in the wheelchair. If they are going to be in the chair for several hours, then they remove the sling, but if the patient is being transfered to the chair for a brief period of time (less than 2 hours) they leave the sling in place but they make sure that it is secured so that no portions of the sling get in the way of the wheels or controls on the wheelchair.
To remove the sling from under a patient in a wheelchair, they first slide the part of the sling that is under their legs and rear-end backwards towards the back of the chair, and then they lean the patient forward slightly (using a second staff member or wheelchair seatbelts for safety so the patient does not fall forward) and pull the sling upwards so that it is exiting the chair/patient behind the patients back.
She puts the sling back under the patient by sliding it under their legs and rear-end first and then pulling it up behind their back....
Essentailly, she is always pushing/pulling the sling towards the back of the wheelchair so that she is reducing the chances of the patient sliding or falling forward and out of the chair.
I hope that helps, and I again apologize for taking so long to get back to you.
Please let me know if you want me to ask Cheryl anything else
Take care,
Liz
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The greatest difficulty lies not in choosing between self-interest and the common good, but in knowing the difference.
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