Looking to transfer my mother from wheelchair to car and back. I've done some research and some say Beasy transfer boards are great and others say they're not. I can't find anyone who will offer a money back guarantee in case in they do not work.
My mother is very immobile and can't lift herself at all, but she needs to get out of the building she's been confined to.
I just want to move her from her wheelchair to a car and back again.
I'm thinking a Beasy board and a good gait belt might work but I could use opinions on what transfer board might work best.
Thanks to everyone here. You've been a great help so far!
1. The disc which slides along the board not only would need to move freely and smoothly, but needs to support someone's body without being compressed down into the slide channel. The discs that I saw are 10" and 12", so that means that that's all that someone would be sitting on to slide from one end of the board to another.
I don't know offhand what the average measurement is of the seated portion of someone's derriere is, but I think someone would have to be on the slender side to use either size, even though portions of the hips wouldn't even be on the disc. Someone with a large bottom would limit the size available to slide on, including if the assistant had to get his/her hands on the disk to assist its movement.
For a larger person, the excess over the disc would diminish the space needed to push the person from one side to the other, or for the person to hold onto the slide board.
2. I would be concerned about the compression issue of the slide mechanism once someone is actually sitting on the disc, i.e., will the weight push the slide mechanism down into the channel and interfere with smooth operation?
3. One portion of the video demonstration showed 2 people using the board to transfer. One was bent over, holding a gait belt and gently pulling the person from one side to the other The other was standing in back holding the wheelchair (which should have been locked and not required to be held).
4. The wheelchair to auto transfer seemed to go smoothly, with a slender woman perhaps about 125 - 130 pounds. I didn't watch the entire video b/c it was too slow, so I didn't see how it handled someone much older and not as flexible as the demonstrator.
5. I'd like to see one in person to examine the center slide mechanism; if it breaks, the board is useless.
6. I've known people who think they know how to use a gait belt but they don't. You'd need instruction in its proper use. Otherwise, your mother could be injured. So could your back. This system seems to require a lot of bending over by the person assisting in the transfer.
So if you're really serious, find one and try it out for demonstration.
The only way for me to find out if it works or not is to try it.
I was going to buy one from Amazon, but the dealer does not offer a refund of any kind, and the board is rather expensive, so that's been ruled out. I might try to find a local dealer who sells these and go from there.
Thanks again:)
I think finding a local dealer is a much better idea than buying something like that through Amazon. Your dealer wants your business so you're a potential client. With Amazon, it's just another cyberpurchase.