GelO News February 2019

“It’s better to look good than to feel good.” ... that's the wisdom of Billy Crystal We create products all the time that solve problems. It’s what we do. It’s what we’re known for. Some of them, like a bowling ball holder, are one of a kind, “isn’t that neat” product. But every once in a while, and often with the involvement of one of our customer-therapists, we develop a product that is truly “life-changing”. That’s our new Adjustable Forehead Stabilizer. Dan Ganoza at the San Francisco VA, came to us with an ALS client who couldn’t keep his head in an upright position for more than short periods and life was harder than it had to be for him and his family caregivers. Working together and making multiple iterations, the final product, The StaRite™ Adjustable Forehead Stabilizer (SRAFS) provided the right combination of support and comfort. The first time out, the client was able to be up in his power chair for over 6 hours. Dan wrote up the whole process to get to this success in VA Therapist newsletter. Click here to read. When combined with ~15 degrees of tilt or back angle opening, clients have no problem keeping their head up. Because the adjustability of the pad position allows it to be placed right where it needs to be, it doesn’t need to be tightly pressed against the forehead. The pad is a Dimensional silicone GEL that mimics the softness of human fatty tissue. When pressed against skin, the pad moves with the head movements without shearing or pressure. When no longer needed, it is easily flipped back 180 degrees out of the way. From the first client – who was able to attend a benefit in his honor given by the San Francisco Giants that would have been impossible without it – to the responses we hear from the ATP’s who try it with their clients, this product is a life changer for people who have lost the neck strength to maintain a neutral head position. Think through your current list of clients with ALS, MS, Parkinson’s, or any of the other diseases that can create the ‘head on the chest’ problem and let us show you the changes we can make in their lives…and yours. We have adapters to allow fitting it to 0.75” (small Stealth) and to 1” round ball head rest hardware as well as a few others. If you need something else – a different adapter or help with a different problem – please let me know. Chris (302)-494-9070 Doesn’t starting 2019 off giving comfort and relief to your clients sound like a great way to start the year? They are so good looking and so comfortable, you may forget just how well they work. Discover RibCap™ for yourself. ‌ How do you make good better ? With RoboPAWS (Programmable Automated Weight Shifting system), you add to the list of manual tilt chairs with which the platform can be used. Falcon and Gel Ovations pioneered the market for Power Add-ons for manual tilt chairs such as the Iris, Solara, Focus, and Fuze. These Power Add-ons provided independence by allowing customers to tilt themselves instead of needing someone to shift their weight for them. Remember it’s also made for the Falcon MTC for those clients who need a chair that takes abuse better than the chairs made for more careful users. For those clients needing more help in regular weight shifting – RoboPAWS – the Programmable Automated Weight Shifting system was created. By adding sensors and a ‘brain’, automatic weight shifting can be done safely and with shifts recorded. Clients with memory issues or a history of non-compliance for whatever reason are able to have their chair programmed to do the weight shift on whatever schedule their therapist specified whenever they are in their chair – unless there is a safety issue. Remove the safety issue; weight shift done! Until now, RoboPAWS has always included Falcon or Gel Ovations Power Add-ons (TCK). Ki Mobility recently launched their own Power Add-on for the Focus, and now RoboPAWS is available for the Focus with Ki Power Add-on. Ki Mobility users…you are welcome ! Loopwheels™ As the exclusive US Distributor, we are very proud of these patented, carbon fiber composite - leaf spring - shock absorbing - suspensions systems for manual wheelchairs. When we saw these at Rehacare we knew they needed to be available in the US - and now we bring them to you. Sorry, we do not distribute these to Canada. Not only do they LOOK COOL, they reduce vibration by 2/3 and reduce the effort needed to self- propel on uneven surfaces. The drop off curbs is cushioned by 50%. All this gives a smooth ride, ADDS comfort, and saves the body from absorbing all those unwanted vibrations. 25" Loopwheels 24" Loopwheels Preventing Repetitive Shoulder Injuries Shoulder injury prevention - Reeve Health Minute Gel Ovations and Falcon Rehab | 888-435-6828 |