Matt Covington, a physical therapist with Intermountain Homecare, paid a weekend visit to the home of a patient who’d recently had his leg amputated and found he and his wife were struggling. The amputation, combined with the patient’s age and limited strength, were limiting his ability to move around. His wife struggled to help him with transitions from his wheelchair to the bed and bathroom.
Matt Covington
“When I arrived in the home,” says Matt, “I performed a home safety evaluation, which includes an inspection of a patient’s ability to perform functional mobility tasks and transfers in the home.”
Matt found the patient’s wife had been transferring him from his wheelchair using a complicated system that required him to stand on a portable step with a walker, shift his foot so he could sit, then fall backward on the bed. The combination of movements was not only difficult to do, but also carried a high risk of falling.
“I wanted to find a way that the patient wouldn’t have to elevate himself so high in order to transfer to the bed,” says Matt.
While talking with the patient, he found there was a guest bed in another room that was low enough for him to transfer directly from his wheelchair to the bed, using much simpler movements and requiring less exertion. This not only reduced the effort needed to transfer, but also greatly reduced the patient’s and his spouse’s risk of fall or other injury.
Through his evaluation, Matt also helped with transitions to the shower and the toilet, with minimal assistance from his wife. Both were extremely grateful for the confidence he was able to give them after just one visit.