Oregon hospital may order 40 or more
When John Campbell’s father developed ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Campbell promised to do anything in his power to let him live out the rest of his life at home. But it soon became apparent that mobility was going to be an issue.
He decided a lift system could be a solution, but Campbell couldn’t find a unit that didn’t require his father’s home to be extensively remodeled.
Campbell, a heavy duty mechanic for Clark County, has used overhead cranes throughout his career and figured he could build a freestanding lift system that any caregiver, no matter his or her size, would be able to maneuver.
He designed the EWC Lift System, a freestanding, top-loading unit that can be assembled to fit almost any sized room in any sized house. Most lift systems are underslung, having to be screwed into a ceiling, which restricts the weight a unit is able to hold: most ceilings support 25 pounds per square foot whereas floors support 250 pounds per square foot, he said.
The lift worked marvelously, but Campbell swore he would never make another one.
He was convinced otherwise by his father’s caregivers who were impressed with the system – the lift is designed so one person can move a 350-pound person with 11 pounds of initial effort, Campbell said. After the initial effort, the effort drops to four pounds.
"They said too many people are going into care centers because they can’t be cared for at home," he said. "I hate business with a passion, but I overcome it knowing we can help people out. If I thought I could walk away from this I would."
The units are electrical and plug into a wall outlet – a motor controls the up-and-down lifting motion, then the patient may be moved around the room with little effort. There are few moving parts, requiring little to maintain, Campbell said.
The systems cost $5,000 including installation, and response from groups such as Aging and Long Term Care of Southwest Washington and the Washington Medical Case Management Assoc. has been enthusiastic. Campbell has spoken to several such groups across the state and in Oregon since he started the business officially last October.
But everyone wants to know how to pay for the product, Campbell said.
It is now approved for Medicaid in 15 counties and Campbell is seeking an OK from Medicare.
"We’re going to jump through the hoops because this is our personal business," he said.
The base parts cost $1,400 not counting welding and manufacturing of outside parts. Campbell said the company currently loses money when it installs a system, and will have to sell about six units per month to break even.
Construction requires 16 hours with roughly two to three hours for installation and training for customers and caregivers.
"We’re not going to get rich doing this," he said.
There are three units now in use; the most recent was installed in Yakima.
The woman for whom it was installed was paralyzed from the chest down after a surgical injury three years ago and the lift has, without a doubt, changed her life, said Betty Meilander, local program coordinator for Aging and Long-Term Care in Yakima. The woman receives services though ALTC, which is state and federally funded.
"I was very, very impressed," Meilander said. "It used to take two strong people to move the client, and when I was there, she and her caregiver were practically bubbling, wanting to show me how easy it was. They couldn’t say enough about it."
The lift only allows a patient to be moved within one room, whereas other lifts may allow patients to be moved to other rooms, but Meilander said the safety benefits far outweigh other lift systems. And it may be dismantled and reassembled if a patient moves to a new home.
The woman had not been able to leave her bed to use the restroom since she was paralyzed, Campbell said, but within an hour, she was able to be lifted to a bedside commode for the first time in three years.
"That’s why our (slogan) is ‘lifting life and sprit’," he said, "Think what that can do for a person."
Meilander said the unit will revolutionize lift systems.
"It is all around money, and the state is going to end up paying if people continue to use lifts that are unsafe," she said. "There are going to be more L&I claims because caregivers strain their backs using inadequate lifts."
In 2005, Washington passed a "safe patient handling bill" that requires hospitals to provide mechanical lifts for the purpose of moving patients by Jan. 30, 2010. By Feb. 1, 2007, hospitals were to have established safe patient handling committees to recommend the process for implementing a safe patient handling program, which must be established by Dec. 1.
Oregon has not passed such a law, but Tillamook County General Hospital is taking the initiative to make itself a no-manual-lift care center. EWC Lift Systems is now in the process of making a lift for the hospital, which has expressed interest in buying more than 40 more.
Campbell, with the help of his family, manufactures the units at his home in Battle Ground. He has been conscious to use local products and services such as powder coating, finding that local shops offer the same service he does – quality and personal investment.
The units come with a one-year "anything warranty" and a lifetime warranty on the frame.
"To us, quality of life is everything," Campbell said.
And when his father died two years ago, he died at home.
