INVENTOR, CONGRESSMAN VISIT LUVERNE VETERANS HOME

LUVERNE ­ The Minnesota Veterans Home is the proud owner of four new wheelchairs with the Jerry Lock Brake System. The chairs were delivered Tuesday by the inventor while Rep. Gil Gutknecht visited.

"This is a really great story," Gutknecht said.

When Jerry Ford's son Zack came to him with a problem at work, Ford came up with a brilliant solution.

"We have a problem with rollaway chairs," Zack told his dad.

Working at a nursing home for several years, Zack noticed many residents would fall when they would try to push themselves out of their wheelchair, because the chair would scoot backward and out from under the resident if he or she forgot to apply the brakes.

Ford, who is a farmer and rancher, thought about the problem. On April 25, 2004, at 10 a.m., he went to work and had a prototype built by 2 p.m.

The braking system Ford built is based on the use of weight and gravity. When the wheelchair user stands up, the brakes are engaged. When the user sits down, the brakes are released. The weight of the user is what engages or disengages the brakes.

It was important that the chair still be able to fold easily and have no pressure points on the seat that could cause pressure sores.

Ford brought the chair to the Minnesota Inventors Congress in June 2004, and it won four top awards.

"The people from the Inventors Congress believe my fall prevention invention holds the record for the most awards taken by any one invention in the competition's 47-year history," said Ford on Tuesday.

When he ran into Gutknecht at a motorcycle rally, he told the congressman about his invention and asked if there was anything Gutknecht could do to help him get the word out about the chairs.

"He came down and visited my offices, and I showed him how they work," Ford said.

Gutknecht, R-Rochester impressed with the invention, helped Ford get the word out about the chairs.

Ford patented the design and two others he invented and is proud to say he has patented the use of gravity. He also trademarked the name Safe-T-Chair for his invention.

"Here’s the great part about that," Gutknecht said Tuesday as he pointed out the label. "Made in America."

Photo by: BRIAN KORTHALS/DAILY GLOBE Rep. Gil Gutknecht (left) sits in one of the new wheelchairs on the market from inventor Jerry Ford (right) as Minnesota Veterans Home administrator Pam Barrows looks on during Tuesday afternoon's delivery of several of the wheelchairs to the facility.

Gutknecht invited Ford to accompany him on a visit to the veterans home in January to present his ideas to staff and put a brake system on one of its existing chairs.

"The resident in the sample chair had several falls before the system was put on," administrator Pam Barrows explained. "Since it was added, there have been no falls."

It worked so well, the home ordered four of the chairs.

"They were ordered with designated contributions using donated funds," said Barrows. "We will use them for whichever resident they are appropriate for."

Another feature of Ford’s Safe-T-Chair is the attendant handles. They are powdercoated with silver ion, which kills germs on contact.

"It is being used in more and more products," Barrows said. "It kills bacteria and helps with infection control." "We’re rediscovering what the Romans already knew," Gutknecht added with a laugh.

Ford has delivered 22 of the Safe-T-Chairs to nursing homes in the last week, but the home in Luverne is the first veterans home to get the new chairs. Ford purchases the chair and adds the braking system to it. All of the parts for the system come from Minnesota businesses.

A 20-inch Safe-T-Chair retails for $324.95, an 18-inch chair for $299.95. That price includes the chair and the braking system and is competitive with other wheelchair prices. As Ford demonstrated the features of the chair to staff, Gutknecht watched with a smile.

"He's basically a farmer," Gutknecht said of Ford. "What a great example of Minnesota ingenuity. I'm happy to play just a little part in it."