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(inspiring music) In this particular situation, we're going to say that this person is not capable of lifting their own or bearing their own weight at all. This is going to put unnecessary stress on the care provider and in any case where this is happening, we want to make sure that we're using a mechanical lift device anytime possible. So let's go through how to use a particular mechanical lift device. In this case, we're using what is called a Hoyer, or if it was a different brand, an Invacare lift system. You'll notice that it does have legs that are capable of being spread apart by the lever. That is in order to get around a chair or a wheelchair so as to be able to move the hooking devices in close to where the straps are going to be once we have this, the sling, in place. This particular sling, which there are many sling devices. This one happens to be one that you can use either already placed on the person or after the fact, and in this case, he does not have a sling in place. We're gonna show how to put it in place and use it once we've discovered that he needs to have a mechanical lift. Sir, if you're able to, can you sort of scoot forward just a little bit? That's perfect. If he were not able to lift, move himself forward, my partner and I would get underneath and do a two-person manual slight shift forward. In this case, we don't have to, so we'll demonstrate that in another phase. Go ahead and lean back, sir. Remember to communicate with the person that you're moving. Sir, in this case, we're going to be putting these straps underneath your legs. So we assist this person by lifting their leg and bringing the strap up and through, and then you can drape it over the knee. Now we're going to move the mechanical lift device into place. It's very important that you're careful not to hurt the person that you're moving with the lift itself. There are sharp objects. There's many different measurements. There are four of the different sizes of people. It's also, if you want to have the legs lower than the torso, then you can adjust this appropriately and use the longer straps so that the legs hang down further than the top. In this case, we're gonna go with the medium hook and we're going to criss-cross the straps. Nope, I think we're gonna go with the longer hook. You can always make an adjustment if need be. Once we're sure that these are in place, this becomes a two-person job. We want to make sure that the straps are in place, that the device is all set and level before we begin lifting. We also want to communicate with the person that we're about to lift them and some of the things that they might feel. Sir, when we begin to lift you, it's important that you keep your arms crossed and that you do not reach out. You might feel a slightly tipping back. I want to assure you, you will not fall, okay? And we'll help guide you. At this point, there's usually a tightening knob or a level to close the pneumatic valve or the oil-filled pressure valve. Now, we're able to begin pumping up the device slowly, bringing the slack out of the straps, making sure not to pinch any parts of the person. If at any time, sir, you feel uncomfortable, let me know. - Okay. - Being careful of the groin area as the pressure is applied to the lower parts of the person. You can see that, with very little effort, we're actually lifting the full weight of this person up out of their chair. Now, it's important that we prepare the pathway from one location to the other ahead of time so that we could remove all obstacles that would stop us from easily being able to transfer this person over. We now are able to carefully guide this person. There is a rear strap on the back of this sling that I can help guide the person with. If we had to go through narrow doorways, we could close the leg mechanism. In this case, we do not. It's a simple transfer. And now, being very careful not to release the pressure on the valve too quickly, we just barely crack the valve so that we slowly lower the person down into their chair. You can actually push back a little bit so as to place them in the right position as we lower them. Sir, you're gonna feel yourself lowering slowly. (lift grinds) Are you comfortable? - Yep, I am. - Go ahead and lean back. (lift grinds) Slowly letting the pressure out of the mechanism. You can see that the slack begins on here. We want to lower the mechanism with the hooks low enough that we can disconnect the hooks easily. And then we can remove the lifting mechanism from the person's area, remove the sling altogether, or if it's the person's individual sling that they're used to having in place, we can leave it in place. This is especially helpful if this is a person that is only temporarily gonna be moved to a different location, like an easy chair, a reclining chair, a couch, a softer chair. Maybe it's a toilet where they have to use the bathroom. In this case, we could remove the sling altogether and this person now has been safely transferred to a mobile chair where we can then continue this person's day.
When a patient is not able to bear weight on his or her feet, a mechanical lift should be used. A mechanical lift takes the strain out of lifting and drastically reduces the risk of injury. While using any mechanical device it is important to communicate with the patient to keep him or her calm. Make sure to use the proper sling and adjust the straps to fit the patient properly.