Moving or transferring a loved one with disabilities requires particular strength and coordination skills to prevent the caregiver and the loved one from injury. While a person with mobility limitations might need assistance to do basic activities like moving from the bed to the wheelchair or from the wheelchair to the toilet seat, the caregiver must also be prepared and knowledgeable in properly transferring the person.
Wheelchair training for caregivers and other basic tips are essential in transferring loved ones with mobility limitations. While these tips are easy to learn for the person’s family, hiring a professional from Home Health Companions (HHC) to help with mobility is a better approach to ensure your loved ones are moved safely.
Life is beautiful with our loved ones around. And as humans, we are wired not only to care for ourselves but also our loved ones. The urge to always care for loved ones, whether young or old, remains an innate desire for most humans.
But the task could be challenging or even require expert hands when the loved one has disabilities and requires special mobility needs. It even becomes more difficult when you don’t have the time to start learning how to lift an elderly person from a chair.
Read the techniques below to learn about practical wheelchair training for caregivers for safe transferring care. While some tips you will learn below are easy guides for family members, some require the expertise of professional transfer caregivers to execute.
Let’s dive in.
Re-design the house for easy movement
Modifying the house for effortless accessibility is one of the first steps in transferring or moving a loved one with disabilities with ease. If the person with the disability is a kid, you might not have any issue modifying the apartment for easy movement.
However, suppose your parents are the ones with mobility limitations. In that case, you have to sit them down and have a critical discussion with them about making necessary upgrades to the house to enhance easy navigation.
Of course, they might initially bring up resistance because they are already used to the house arrangements. Ensure to convince them why you must modify the house to support their day-to-day movement within and without the apartment.
Some of the quick fixes would include:
- One-floor living apartment
- Transfer Training Handouts
- Stair-free Entrances
- Well-lit Rooms
- Transfer Devices for Elderly
- Grab Bars
- Well-adjusted Toilet Heights
- Vinyl Flooring
More importantly, you can consult caregiver professionals such as Home Health Companions for the home safety evaluations of the loved one’s apartment.
Learn proper body mechanics & communication
As stated above, transferring a loved one with mobility limitations effectively without hurting them or yourself requires special skills. You need to learn proper body mechanics for transferring patients and effective communication to do this effectively. Learning how to lift an elderly person from a chair with proper body mechanics is now a must.
In this context, proper body mechanics for transfers primarily relates to how you move your body while moving a person with disabilities. The positioning of your legs and arms matters as much as the person you want to carry.
Mind you, if you engage in poor body mechanics for transfers while moving your loved ones, you might mistakenly hurt yourself, eventually resulting in back pain. You should save your back and get a third person to assist you if you feel a strain.
Also, communication is vital when moving or transferring a loved one from a wheelchair. You must carry the person you intend to carry along at every stage. Talk to the person and explain what you are doing and intend to do. When you need them to participate in the transfer process, ask the person kindly what you need them to do.
8 Important Rules to Observe When Making a Wheelchair Transfer
You need strength and coordination to transfer a person in and out of a wheelchair. To successfully move a loved one with mobility limitations to or from the wheelchair to a car, toilet or shower seat, you need to observe these basic rules:
- Move the wheelchair very near to where you want to transfer the person.
- Only transfer the person on their stranger side
- Position the wheelchair well and lock it while the person moves in or out of it.
- Adjust the foot pedals, and the leg rests well in order not to obstruct the transfer.
- Have a gait belt in hand to prevent injury to the person
- Embrace proper body mechanics for transfers to protect your back. Genuflect during the move and let your back maintain a natural curve position.
- When moving upward on a stair, ensure the person sits comfortably while pulling the wheelchair backward.
- Ensure the person is sitting with their legs 90 degrees at both the knees and hips
As established earlier, communication is vital to have a safe transfer process. Always remember to tell them what you intend and how you want to do it.
Benefits of hiring a Home Health Companions’ Caregiver for help with transfer mobility
Maybe the processes involved in moving a loved one with mobility limitations are too challenging for you. Or you don’t even have the strength and coordination skills to perform safe transfers for a person in a wheelchair. Don’t worry yourself too much; help is available if you are open to hiring a professional caregiver.
Only a few professionals have the training, strength and coordination to transfer people with mobility limitations safely. And Home Health Companions is one of the few places you can hire the best hands for the job.
The Home Health Companions is a one-stop caregiver service provider. Our team of professional and experienced caregivers makes it easier to remain at home and still be cared for when challenges occur in your loved ones’ daily lives. Our establishment offers professional body mechanics for caregivers.
At HHC, we provide other tailor-made services to meet a range of needs, whether you require caregivers and companions for ongoing care or recovery care.
Our caregiver services feature these benefits:
- Companionship for the person
- Safe transfer of persons with mobility limitations
- Safeguarding transfer devices for elderly
- Meal Preparation
- Providing adequate transfer aids for the elderly
- Light Housekeeping and Laundry
- Incontinence Care and Personal Hygiene
- Medication Reminders
- Professional caregivers in body mechanics
- Errand Service and Shopping
Conclusion
Now you have learned essential tips on safely transferring persons with mobility limitations. Though the techniques and rules appear simple and easy to follow, it takes special strength and coordination skills to ensure a safe transfer.
Hence, contact Home Health Companions for the best professional hands if you require caregivers to fill in for you in transferring your loved ones.
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