Wheelchair Safety | Preventing Wheelchair Falls

America's aging population is expected to increase dramatically during the coming years. The first group of Baby Boomers born between the years 1946 and 1964 will reach 65 in 2011. This will kick off the fastest increase in the aging population in our history. In 2000 the aging population was 12% but that number is expected to reach 20% by 2030. The economic impact on individuals, health care providers, and society as a whole will be significant.

Every year one-third of older adults experience a fall. At least 10% to 20% of these falls result in significant injury to the patient resulting in further use of costly health care services. Women are two-thirds more likely to be injured in a fall because women make up 58% of the older population. Comparative studies ranking medical expenditures for older adults have shown that injuries rank higher than most diseases in health care costs. Current medical expenses occurring as a direct result of falls amounts to more than $20 billion dollars. This number is expected to rise to $32 billion dollars annually as the population of older adults continues to grow. Medicare announced in October 2008 that it will no longer cover falls that could have been reasonably prevented.

Research into the effectiveness of using an automatic wheelchair braking system has been shown to decrease falls by 78%. The Jerry Ford Company believes that preventing roll away wheel chair falls will save lives and money in insurance costs and is actively involved in the effort to prevent wheelchair falls using the Safe-T-Chair® anti roll back system. The Safe-T-Chair® anti roll back system is user friendly and offers many high quality features that aid in fall prevention. No other anti roll back wheelchair braking system on the market offers comparable features.

The Safe-T-Chair® is delivered ready to use with no assembly required. This wheelchair brake system does not interfere in any way with normal operation of the chair. There are no under seat pressure points, and unoccupied chairs can be moved easily with the palm release feature. Ambulating patients will enjoy ease of movement with the automatic lock off and reset feature.

Using the Safe-T-Chair® in long term care facilities will free up staff, prevent falls, and increase the quality of life for all patients. The Safe-T-Chair® is an integrated system. It is more than just a wheelchair. Purchasing these devises will not interfere with vendor contracts. These industry standard anti roll back wheelchair devices can only be purchased through the Jerry Ford Company or authorized dealers. The complete line of safety equipment, parts, and fall prevention accessories are available through our estore. The Safe-T-Chair® is a revolutionary device that is leading the way in wheelchair fall prevention devices.

News Articles:

» Wheelchair Safety | Preventing Wheelchair Falls

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» Inventors Create Wheelchair Innovations for Safety, Affordability and Mobility

» Inventor finds right place . . . right time . . . right 'brake'

» Inventor, congressman visit Luverne veterans home

» Local Inventor Recieves All Top Honors at the Minnesota Inventors Congress Held in Redwood Falls, Minnesota!

» Move over Henry, Jerry’s rolling now

» Inventor's idea keeps rolling along

» Putting the breaks on unnecessary injuries

» Benefits of Wheelchair Maintenance

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News Video Clips
» KTTC News: Jerry Ford Company Wheelchair Donation (2.3 MB)

» KTTC News: Jerry Ford Sweeps Awards at MN Inventors Congress (6.0 MB)