Aluminum wheelchair ramps offer a quick & easy way to make a home accessible. These types of ramps can be used and installed year-round, with proper care & maintenance during winter weather months. If you’re in need of wheelchair ramp, there’s no need to wait for spring to have one installed!
Key Takeaways:
Clear snow & ice - Keep the ramping, platform, and nearby pathways clear of snow and ice to ensure safe use of the ramp
Use materials safe for aluminum - Use equipment (i.e. plastic shovel rather than metal) and salt that is safe to use on aluminum surfaces to prevent any damage to your ramp
Winter ramp installations are possible as aluminum wheelchair ramps can be safely installed year-round and are designed to resist rust an corrosion, which is perfect for areas with harsh winters.
If you’re in the market for a stair lift, you may be wondering if your health insurance or Medicare coverage will pay the cost. Unfortunately, standard health insurance policies and Medicare will not typically cover the purchase or installation of a stair lift, even with a doctor’s order.
While some may worry that a stairlift installation could damage the walls or floor in their home, that is a myth, and simply not true. Professional installation of a stairlift will not damage the walls in a home as they are simply installed onto the stair treads.
We get several inquiries from people asking what they should do with their used medical equipment when they no longer need it. In this post, we will share some suggestions and options on what to do with your used medical equipment.
If you have an accessibility solution, such as a stair lift or aluminum wheelchair ramp that you'd like to ret rid of, one of our locations at Lifeway Mobility may be interested in purchasing it, depending on the year and condition of the equipment.
If you are looking to purchase used stair lift or used wheelchair ramp, please contact us to learn more or set up a free consultation.
Option 1: Donate Your Used Medical Equipment to a Charitable Organization
Donating your gently used medical equipment is a great option. With a donation, you won’t receive any money back for your device, but you will get a receipt that can be used for tax deductions. Donations allow you to collect a receipt for the current value of the equipment, which can often times be more than you would get by doing a private sale. And, perhaps the most rewarding part of donating your equipment is that it will go to help another family in need.
Many of the organizations below have “equipment closets” that they loan from to help other families for both short and long-term assistance. For example, someone with ALS will have ongoing and changing needs. They might use a manual wheelchair at first, but eventually need a power wheelchair; once they reach the end-stages of the disease, they will not need a wheelchair at all.
ALS Foundation
Assistance League (Hospital Lending Equipment)
Good Health Will
Home Builder’s Foundation
Kids Mobility Network
Local Lending Closets
MS Society
Project Cure
Vietnam Veterans of America
Option 2: Resell Your Used Medical Equipment
If you bought your equipment from elsewhere or have other types of durable medical equipment, your best bet at recouping some of the expenses is to sell it online. Most companies similar buy back policies on this type of equipment as there can be a high level of liability with re-selling used medical equipment due to the health and safety risks involved. For this reason, you are encouraged to give careful consideration when buying certain types of used medical equipment, especially from a private seller.
Craigslist
Facebook Marketplace
NextDoor
As a trusted stair lift provider for 30+ years, we have heard several stair lift "beliefs" that in reality are not true. In this blog post, we debunk the 7 common myths that people have about stair lifts so that you can know the real facts.
Hartford, CT - Lifeway Mobility, Inc. (“Lifeway”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired Accessible Systems, Inc. (“ASI”), a leading provider of home safety and accessibility solutions for people with limited mobility in the Rocky Mountain and southwest regions for over 22 years.
Lifeway Mobility is pleased to announce that it has invested in the assets of Accessible Home Automations, LLC, doing business as Stairbusters.com, which has been a leading provider of accessibility solutions for people with mobility challenges throughout Western Pennsylvania for over 20 years.
Lifeway Mobility is pleased to announce that it has invested in Gamburd, Inc., which has been a leading provider of accessibility solutions for people with limited mobility throughout California for over 18 years.
December 1st, 2020
EHLS, a Lifeway Mobility Company, has been proudly serving the Chicagoland area for the past 28 years. In 2018, we joined Lifeway Mobility and today we are taking the next step by fully changing our name to Lifeway Mobility Chicago.
We wanted to share a recording of our webinar, "Tips from the Experts: Maintaining Independence at Home", for those who were unable to attend when it was presented live on October 28th, 2020.
A stair lift can be very useful to those who need assistance with navigating a staircase due to limited mobility or balance issues. While these types of lifts are most often installed inside and outside of homes, there are other buildings where they can be accommodating.
After reading the title of this blog post, you may be thinking "what marathon is Lifeway preparing for? Aren't all large gatherings cancelled?". While we're not preparing to run an actual 26.2 mile marathon, we do believe we're prepared to navigate through this COVID-19 crisis period, which we as a team are relating to a marathon.
If you just had your stair lift installed, but still have a couple of questions in regards to service or maintenance on the lift, you've come to the right place. This post lists a number of commonly asked questions that we receive from stair lift customers after installation.
For people who are aging in place or need help with mobility or medical issues at home, in-home care from a qualified provider can enable them to live at home more safely and independently.
Professional caregivers can provide different types and levels of care on either a short-term or long-term basis, including:
Companionship and conversation
Transportation to appointments or errands
Assistance with safely managing tasks around the house
Help with daily activities such as dressing and bathing
Nursing and medical care
But how do you know what type of care you need, and what type of caregiver can provide it? Here are the types of in-home caregivers you might experience, from the lowest level of care to the highest.
If the stairs start to become too difficult to manage at home, there are usually two options that people can consider to solve the problem. The first option is to remain at home (with modifications), and the other is to move to a senior living or assisted living facility. Both are feasible options, but many prefer to remain in their home because it prevents the stress of having to move again, and makes it possible to remain in the place that has so many positive emotional ties. A home is a place of comfort as it is where most people build lasting memories with family and friends, whether it be from holidays parties, or social gatherings with friends.
Awhile back I was curious about stair lifts, stair chair lifts, and your basic accessibility solutions on the market. With the increased interest of aging in place, I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. So I conducted a little experiment.
If you’ve been thinking about buying or renting a stair lift, you’re probably wondering which model is the best one to buy. Ranking any type of product can be subjective and if you ask 100 people, you’re likely to get many different answers. However, when you compare several makes and models of popular stair lifts side by side, it’s not too hard to see which ones rank better than others.
Since April is Occupational Therapy Month, it’s a good time to reflect on how occupational therapists help improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world each year.
Despite the important services they provide, many people don’t understand what an occupational therapist (OT) does. An OT is a licensed health and rehabilitation professional that works with people of all ages with mental, physical, developmental, social or emotional problems to develop, recover, or maintain daily living and work skills.
A curved rail stair lift requires a track that is curved to fit the shape of your staircase. There are several different types of curved rail. When buying a curved stair lift, it is important to consider the pros and cons of each type of track.
After you have a stair lift installed, you won’t notice any significant changes to your home’s electric bill. A stair lift is energy efficient and uses approximately .024 kWh of electricity and should cost less than $15 per year.
A question that we frequently get asked is “How much does a stair lift cost?”. There are several factors that determine the price of a stair lift, including which make and model of stair lift you choose and whether your stairway is straight or curved. Other factors include whether you are purchasing a brand-new unit, a used unit or renting a stair lift.
With the therapeutic benefits of warm water therapy gaining notoriety, you may be in the market for a new soaking or walk-in bathtub. If this is the case, you might have seen an option called a hydrotherapy air tub. While many people are familiar with tubs outfitted with whirlpool jets, commonly called a Jacuzzi tub, an air tub is a newer concept.
Walk-in bathtubs have long been known as an accessible bathing solution for people with limited mobility. But did you know that recent studies have also highlighted the therapeutic benefits of walk-in tubs? A walk-in tub can help people with a variety of conditions, including:
As we age, getting in and out of a bathtub can become a difficult task that can put us at risk of injury. For those that enjoy a warm bath after a long day but have trouble lowering themselves into a standard bathtub, a walk-in tub might be the perfect solution.
A walk-in bathtub features a water-tight door that swings either in or out, and a built-in seat that allows you to bathe in a seated position. This means you can avoid lowering yourself into a traditional bathtub.
Many people are surprised to learn common home accessibility modifications such as stair lifts, ramps, and barrier-free showers are not usually covered by most standard health insurance policies or Medicare.
It stands to reason that equipment that makes living at home safer for people with limited mobility due to injury, illness, or aging would be covered by these funding sources. Unlike standard medical equipment such as a wheelchair or commode, accessibility equipment is typically installed and attached to the structure of the home, making it ineligible for insurance or Medicare coverage under current standards.
