Bathroom Safety Equipment | What To Have In Your Home

Oct 20
0
APA Medical

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to be a little more aware of our immediate surroundings. Social distancing has become a part of our lexicon, and with it comes an acknowledgment of the need to be safer in our every day lives. One of the only positives to be gained from a global pandemic is the hope that people will learn to take a little better care of the things they can control, which will lead to better physical and mental health.

For people with mobility issues, taking care of their immediate surroundings is nothing new. In order to maintain physical and mental health, safety products and protocols become essential to everyday life, especially in the bathroom. A full 80% of falls happen in the bathroom, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Potential hazards are pretty much everywhere in the bathroom, making them a pretty scary place for people with mobility issues. Water, slippery surfaces, and many hard, porcelain fixtures and areas combine to create a pretty hazardous space for those with mobility and balance issues. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly 200,000 Americans receiver emergency room treatment for bathroom-related injuries every year. The National Council on Aging says that one-fourth of older Americans fall each year and that a senior dies from a fall every 19 minutes.

Those numbers are undoubtedly eye-opening and are why at APA Medical Equipment, we take bathroom safety equipment so seriously.

If you or a loved one has mobility issues, the first room in your house you should update is your bathroom. For those with mobility issues, the most common bathroom hazards include:

Slippery shower stalls, bathtubs, and floors
Low toilet seats
Insufficiently secured towel racks and grab bars
Shower chairs that are not slip-resistant

Shower and Tub Safety Precautions

APA Medical - Grab Bars

Grab Bars and Safety Poles: APA Medical offers a wide assortment of wall bars to make life easier for those with mobility issues. Installing grab bars will make your walks in and out of your bathtub a lot safer. By having them placed on the walls or on the side of your tub, you’ll be able to grab on to them to give you support. Wall bars can be mounted both in and outside your shower and by your toilet, where safety is most needed. APA can install on fiberglass, sheetrock, wood, cement, and tile. If grab bars aren’t suitable for your bath or shower, consider a safety pole. The safety pole reaches from floor to ceiling and provides something to hold on to for balance and support while bathing. Safety poles can also be installed near the toilet to help get onto and up from the toilet.

Bath Brush Long Wooden Handle, 16"

Bathing Aids: APA Medical also offers a wide variety of bathing aids for those with mobility issues. From bathtub bars, bath steps, bath stools, and ceiling poles to various bathing accessories designed to make bathing easier. Each of these items enables its users to complete bathroom tasks with confidence and stability. From bathtub mats and shower stips to long-handled bath brushes and portable bath steps, our aids help you traverse and use the bathtub and shower area with more stability.

Bath Bench With Back

Bath Bench and Shower Chairs: When it comes to bathroom safety equipment, not many items are more valuable than bath benches and shower chairs. In addition to providing stability for those with balance issues, both shower chairs and bath benches allow those who have difficulty standing for long periods to rest while bathing. Bath benches and seats allow for a safe, comfortable, and stable place to sit while bathing. Each bench is equipped with rubber or suction tips to help eliminate any chance of the bench moving or sliding. Drainage holes in most seats prevent water build-up. The Wheeled Shower/Commode Chair is perfect for people who need a commode and want the rolling feature to facilitate easy transportation and mobility, including the capability to roll over the toilet or into the shower area.

In addition to the Bath Bench, we also offer various Transfer Benches for both shower and bath use. Transfer benches assist those who have difficulty stepping over bathtub walls. The anodized aluminum frame is lightweight, durable, and rust-resistant. For people with mobility issues, there are many days when stepping into and out of the bath is just a little too much, and transfer benches have saved many people from nasty falls.

Toilet Seat Frames and Risers

Standard toilet bowls are approximately 15 inches high, making it pretty difficult for the elderly and those with mobility issues to raise and lower themselves from the toilet. APA Medical offers a variety of toilet seat risers. Add from 2” to 6” to your seat to make toilet use easier, with a variety of handle setups available for elongated or standard toilet bowls.

Toilet seat risers, when combined with a toilet safety frame, create a scenario around the toilet that provides an additional level of safety and security and provides users with the confidence necessary to manage this activity on their own. APA Medical offers toilet frames that are designed to add support and enhance safety while toileting. Contoured waterfall armrests add comfort and provide an excellent gripping surface.

To peruse all of APA Medical’s bathroom safety equipment, look here.

In addition to all of these safety products, here are three bathroom safety tips for those with mobility issues:

1. Keep Your Necessities Close

Your bathing experiences will be a lot safer and care-free when you know you don’t have to get in and out of the bathtub. By keeping things such as body wash, soap, shampoo, conditioner, razors, shaving cream, rags, loofas, and other bathing accessories close at hand at all times, you’ll be able to enjoy relatively worry-free, comfortable showers. If you take baths, be sure to have your items neatly stored on a shelf within reach or firmly placed on the edges of the tub.

2. Keep the Bathroom Floor Area Clear

If you or a loved one has mobility issues, make sure to keep your bathroom floor clean as the last thing you want is to step on something that could cause a fall. Be sure to hang towels on racks or hooks and all other necessities like brushes, hairdryers, or clothing stowed away and kept safely out of your walking space.

3. Check the Water Temperature Before Entering the Shower or Bath

For those with mobility issues, it’s important to know how hot or cold the water is before entering the shower or bath. You don’t want to be startled which could cause a slip. You also don’t want to accidentally scald your skin. Making sure the water temperature is where you want it also eliminates the need for bending down or exiting the shower or tub prior to completion.

APA Carries a Wide Variety of Bathroom Safety Equipment

As we said off the top, the bathroom can be a dangerous room for those with mobility issues. The combination of water and using the toilet, sink, and bathtub or shower can easily lead to slips and falls. For people with mobility issues, bathroom safety equipment can ease the anxiety of using the bathroom and let them complete bathroom tasks much more easily.

Benefits of Adding a House Handrail | How and Where to Install

Aug 25
0
APA Insider

Did you know that about two-thirds of all accidents related to mobility issues involve falls? And that falls are the fifth-leading cause of death among those who experience difficulty with mobility? Those numbers are pretty eyebrow-raising, so it makes all the sense in the world that we should make it hard to traverse areas easier for those with mobility issues. One of the simplest ways to do that is with a house handrail.

Most of us take using stairs for granted. People with mobility issues don’t, and they shouldn’t. It can sometimes be a difficult adjustment to understand that you now need help on stairs. Often it is the simplest places that can cause harm as well—the three steps in the garage up to the door, or the four steps on your front stoop up to the door. Most people are conditioned over a lifetime that they have no problems getting up these steps, but when you lose your mobility, things that were simple before, aren’t anymore.

The simple addition of a house handrail can make life a lot easier and even prevent serious injuries.

Place Handrails in Key Areas

For those with poor balance, prone to falls, low mobility, or who simply need help getting up out of chairs, beds, or bathroom areas, well-placed handrails can make a world of difference. Grab rails in the bathroom especially will decrease the risk of falls, and help users lift themselves up from seated positions. They increase independence and create peace-of-mind.

If you don’t have any mobility issues, chances are you pay very little attention to handrails when you’re walking down a flight of stairs. You probably haven’t noticed continuous sections—connected handrail sections that serve as essential support, especially for people with mobility issues. As far as safety is concerned, the importance of a continuous handrail can’t be overstated. Continuous handrails allow individuals with mobility issues to ascend and descend stairs or ramps without having to worry about breaks in the handrail and reduce the risk of falls.

Again, handrails can significantly enhance the safety of small, two- and three-step areas like front walks and garages, places that most of us take safety for granted, but can be dangerous areas for those with limited mobility.

Grab Bars and Rails Aren’t Just for the Bathroom

Grab bars aren’t just helpful in the bathroom; they’re also useful near exterior doors, inside and out. For people who are unsteady on their feet, the simple act of opening a door can be delicate. A grab bar gives them something to hang onto near the house and garage entrances and steps.

Importance of Handrails for Safety

As we’ve said a couple of times already, handrails are easy to take for granted. We don’t really notice them until we need them, but they go a long way in preventing falls, especially for those with mobility issues. They’re essential on stairways, decks, and ledges and, for those with mobility issues, anywhere else that falls might occur. Some of the safety benefits of handrails include:

To Help People Balance on Steps and Platforms: When a person loses balance on the stairs or suffers from muscle weakness, they may cling to the railing. Railings provide stability, which is especially crucial for those with mobility issues. People often like to lightly graze hand railings with their hands just in case they need extra support or balance.
To Prevent Nasty Falls: Hand railings on decks and ledges provide a needed barrier between the deck’s surface and the high vertical drop.
To Provide Comfort and Peace of Mind: For those with mobility issues, a railing can make them feel more comfortable and confident. Just knowing a hand railing is there if needed helps people move more safely from A to B.
To Increase Safety During Inclement Weather: During inclement weather, including rain, snow, ice, and sleet, both steps outdoors and indoors, as well as sidewalks and other walkways can become slippery and dangerous. Hand railings provide support, and many people will clutch on to them to ensure that they don’t slip.

Handrailings are Too Important to DIY

APA Medical Installation

At APA Medical, we feel that to best ensure the security and safety of your loved ones; you should not attempt to DIY a hand railing. With one simple mistake, you could threaten the life of anyone who leans upon that rail. We can provide pricing for these services over the phone; no on-site inspection is required. And you might be surprised by the cost—it’s very reasonable, usually less than you might expect, and an excellent purchase for anyone with mobility issues!

The Best Power Mobility Scooter for Your Needs

Aug 10
0
APA Medical

Electric mobility scooters can feel like a godsend for people who’ve been frustrated by losing their ability to get around and easily participate in day-to-day activities like shopping, family outings, or going to grandchildren’s soccer games. Power mobility scooters let people reclaim parts of their lives and allow them to participate in many of the things that losing their mobility had kept them from doing. Everyone has different needs and different lifestyles, so we’ll highlight the best power mobility scooters for both indoor and outdoor use.

When considering what scooter is best for your needs, you have to assess some practical things first. Think about how much will the person be using the scooter. What is the range and charging time for a particular scooter? Also consider if a person needs the ability to carry the scooter in a car, bus, or any other transportation method they use.

If you need to drive your power mobility scooter to different places, it is important to be able to fit it into the car that usually carries it. It is also a good idea to make sure it will fit into other vehicles just in case. Also, be sure that the scooter is light enough for the user or whoever is with the user to lift into a car. Many power mobility scooters easily break down into small, easy-to-carry pieces.

Charging Your Scooter

Depending on what power mobility scooter you end up getting, the batteries may take between eight and 12 hours to charge fully. Most of us aren’t used to depending on battery-powered transportation, so it takes some time to get into a pattern of keeping your scooter charged and ready to go. Keeping your batteries properly charged is essential for extending battery life and optimal performance.

Consider the Health of the User

Power mobility scooters are a tremendous aid and provide a giant morale boost for those who can use them, but they aren’t for everyone with mobility issues. Scooters are fantastic for those who may not be strong enough to walk long distances or are at risk for falls, but users should be able to stand and walk short distances without any help.

If a person is too weak or a medical condition has them unable to move around unaided at all, an electric wheelchair is probably a more suitable option.

APA Medical Offers a Full Range of Scooters

APA Medical is proud to offer a full line of Golden Technologies and Pride Mobility power mobility scooters. Our scooters line runs from the compact, easily transportable models to the heavy-duty outdoor travel models. Many models offer both three- and four-wheel versions. The staff at APA Medical can work with you to determine which one might be best for you.

APA Medical is proud to have added the Pride ZT10 4-wheel scooter to our inventory. With a sleek, contemporary design that can traverse out-of-reach places. This scooter moves seamlessly through doors and down hallways. The ZT10 combines powerful dual motors and two-wheel drive with revolutionary turning technology. Three-speed control lets you adjust your speed when moving from indoor to outdoor driving.

Hot off the press is the Pride iRide scooter. Journey far and wide with this ultra-lightweight scooter. Super portable, this scooter is perfect for traveling. Equipped with both a manual hand brake and supplemental foot brake, the iRide delivers a safe and comfortable ride!

Accessories

Some popular accessories can make your scooter easier to use and allow you to use it in a wider variety of circumstances.

Oxygen Tank Holder—work with size D and E oxygen tanks and have a universal attachment for most scooters
Rear Basket—mobility scooters usually come with a front basket for personal things, but when you need extra carrying capacity (groceries, etc.), a rear basket can be handy
Easy Access Arm Bag—an arm bag on the side of your power mobility scooter gives you easy access to small accessories like phones, car keys, glasses, wallet, etc.

How APA Can Help

APA always beats internet pricing
APA is a full-service dealership. We have many years of experience in servicing scooters
APA has a large showroom so you can have that “hands-on” experience before making your decision on purchasing a power mobility scooter

Safety Recommendations

Power mobility scooters are not considered vehicles by law and should not be used in streets or bike lanes. Scooters should use crosswalks and pay attention to road signs as if they were walking. Sitting in a motor scooter makes you shorter than usual and less visible to those around you. Even if you never plan to use them at night, you should attach working lights to the front and back of the scooter—just in case the need ever arises. Many public transportation methods are built for wheeled access. Still, every place is different, so contact your local transportation authority to find out exactly which means you’ll be able to use.

Power Mobility Scooter Tips

When you first get your electric mobility scooter, give yourself some extra time to get where you are going. It can take some time to get used to following wheel accessible paths.
Keeping your lead acid scooter batteries fully charged will make them last longer
Purchase a carport power adapter that plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter, so that you can charge your scooter’s battery while driving

At APA Medical, we’re all about helping you find the best and most helpful products at the best cost. If you or a loved one requires mobility assistance, a power mobility scooter could very well be the way to go. APA Medical would be happy to consult with you to figure out precisely what your needs are and what the best way to meet those needs might be. Give us a call today!

Where To Install Grab Bars | Add Safety & Stability To Your Home

Jun 22
0
APA Medical

My dad was 89 years old when he fell and broke two vertebrae in his neck at his home in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He recovered remarkably well for someone at that age—he’s able to use a walker to get himself around in their apartment and has adjusted to “assisted living” about as well as anyone could. Beyond my mother, his walker, and his wheelchair, the aid that has meant the most to him for the past two years are wall bars. The biggest question they had at first, was where to install grab bars.

For my dad, his biggest need for wall bars is in the bathroom. His grab bars allow him to use the bathroom with confidence, knowing that he can maneuver himself from the toilet to the shower and the sink with stability and balance.

What Are Grab Bars?

So what are grab bars? Grab bars, otherwise known as wall bars, are safety devices designed to enable a person to maintain balance, lessen fatigue while standing, comfortably redistribute their weight while maneuvering, and, most importantly, give them something to grab onto in case of a slip or fall. Grab bars can quickly transform the level of safety in a home to better accommodate people with mobility issues. Caregivers can use a grab bar to assist with transferring a patient from one place to another.

Grab bars increase safety and accessibility for anyone who has limited mobility. They are often seen in public accessible toilet stalls, but are also used in private homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes. Grab bars are most commonly installed next to a toilet or in a shower or bath enclosure but can be installed anywhere in a home.

CDC Recommends Grab Bars to Reduce Injury Risk

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than 230,000 nonfatal bathroom injuries among people over the age of 15 are treated in emergency rooms each year. Most bathroom injuries occur in or around the tub or shower. Injury rates increase with age, especially accidents where a person slips and falls near a toilet.

The CDC concluded in its report that injuries might be reduced through environmental modifications, including adding grab bars inside and outside the tub or shower to reduce falls and installing grab bars next to the toilet for added support.

Where To Install Grab Bars In Your Home

Bathrooms are the most common places for grab bars in private homes, but they are certainly not the only location that grab bars can help provide extra support and stability. Floor to ceiling grab bars, or stability poles, are often used in bedrooms to provide help in getting in and out of bed or a chair or to help caregivers by assisting transfers.

Grab bars next to a toilet help people using wheelchairs or walkers transfer to the toilet seat and back to the wheelchair or walker. They also provide a big assist to people who have difficulty sitting down, have balance problems while sitting, or need help rising from a toilet or chair. In a shower or bathtub, grab bars help maintain balance while standing or maneuvering, assist in getting in and out of the shower or tub, and generally help to lessen the risk of slips and falls.

Things to Know When Installing Grab Bars

1. Grab bars can be mounted in a variety of areas

A grab bar should be able to support a person weighing up to 500 pounds. The height, weight, and ability of users should be considered when choosing which products to install. Generally, grab bars are installed 33-36 inches from the shower floor. The height, position, and location of the bar can be adjusted to fit a user’s needs.

Dimensions: Our American made satin stainless steel grab bars are 1-1/4″ diameters. We suggest a 1-1/4″ diameter for your home. (the smaller diameter can be easier to grip for people with small hands). ADA compliant exceeding ADA requirements by providing a weight capacity of 500 lbs when properly installed

APA Medical can help you decide what your best options are for installing grab bars in your home, either horizontally, vertically, at an angle, or a combination of all three if that’s what best suits your users.

2. Grab bars should be located where they can best assist users

For tub/shower combinations, grab bars should be installed on the back wall and control wall of the shower. The ADA recommends that two bars be installed on the back wall, one 8 to 10 inches from the rim of the tub and the other parallel to it 33 to 36 inches from the base of the tub. For walk-in showers grab bars should be installed on a side wall, back wall and on a side wall near a shower seat if there is one. For bathtubs, grab bars can be installed near the rims on each side of the tub or near the controls to help users maintain their balance when getting in and out of the tub.

3. Grab bars are available in a variety of lengths and styles

Grab bars are available in various lengths ranging from 12-to-42 inches. They also come in a variety of shapes and finishes. APA Medical offers a wide variety of shapes and styles- SPECIAL ORDER—you can find bars that will blend in with the décor and fixtures in your bathroom.

APA Medical Offers a Wide Variety of Grab Bars and Safety Poles

APA Medical offers a wide variety of wall bars to make life easier for those with mobility issues. Is safety an issue? Let APA make your home a safer place to live. We can install on fiberglass, sheetrock, wood, cement, and tile.

Modular Wheelchair Ramps | Is Your Home Ramp Ready?

Apr 30
0
apamedical

If anyone living in your home is dealing with an injury, illness, or needs the assistance of a wheelchair, walker, or POV for any reason, it’s important that you transform your house into a space that allows for easy access, comfort, and independence. There are a few different ways to make your existing home more accessible. By modifying your house to make it more accessible, you make it possible for someone to live comfortably by allowing them to stay at home. One of the first adjustments that should be made is adding a modular wheelchair ramp, or ramps, outdoors to provide easier access into your home.

With two decades of experience and hundreds of ramps installed and serviced, at APA Medical, we are experts at configuring, quoting, and installing the perfect ramp for every living environment. Modular wheelchair ramps are configured to fit your individual needs based on the layout of where you live. We understand that every living environment is different, and no “cookie-cutter” ramp will work in each situation. You can rely on APA to optimize the accessibility to your home

Making Your Home Accessible for Wheelchairs/Walkers/POV’s

Stairs can be hazardous for a lot of people, not just those who require a mobility device, but for anyone with limited mobility. Even if your home is a single-story ranch layout, you likely have at least one or two steps leading from your stoop to your doorway, or from an interior landing to a living room or kitchen. Several ramp styles exist to meet any needs; folding ramps allow for easy storage and allow you to quickly transform most steps into an accessible entry on the go, and threshold ramps make an entryway easily accessible.

Unless you have entryways that are flush to the ground, odds are you’ll need to install a wheelchair ramp. When installing a ramp, consider the needs of the people who will be using it and what type of ramp will serve you best.

Indoor and outdoor ramps provide safe and reliable room-to-room access for people with walkers, wheelchairs, power chairs, and other mobility aids. Most homes will require an access ramp from the outside. In addition to being wide enough to accommodate a standard adult-sized wheelchair, the grade must be considered.

Four Questions to Ask Before Adding a Modular Wheelchair Ramp to Your Home

1. How much space do you have?

Not everyone can build a ramp up to their front door, which is generally the ideal place to install a ramp. Property lines, trees, or other landscaping features may prevent you from installing a ramp exactly where you would like to. If a ramp fits better leading to a side door or back door, this may be the way to go.

2. How high up is the door?

The higher the door is, the longer your ramp will have to be. You certainly don’t want to make a ramp so steep that it is difficult to climb. Generally speaking, you don’t want the slope of your ramp to be sharper than 1:12 (one inch in vertical change for every 12 inches in length). The 1:12 slope is the most commonly used slope for ramps, and it is the ratio recommended by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). So if your front entrance sits atop a two-foot-tall porch, your ramp will need to be 24 feet long. That distance can add up pretty quickly, so in order to make 24 feet of ramp fit into a smaller yard, we could configure it into a U-shaped ramp.

3. Does your ramp need to have a landing?

If your ramp is particularly long due to the height of the entrance, then you may need to add a resting platform to your ramp. A resting platform is nothing more than a flat surface built into the ramp so that someone who is having a difficult time getting up the ramp can stop, take a breather and continue their way up the ramp. A ramp is easier to climb if it is not just a slope the entire way to the entrance. Again, the need for a landing is always situational, depending on the needs of the user, but it is something that should be kept in mind when you’re building or installing a ramp.

4. How visible is your property at night?

When adding a modular ramp to your home, it’s a good idea to be mindful of providing enough light to the ramped area. There may be plenty of light in the front of your property if you already have lights that illuminate a porch and walkways at night. This might not be the case, however, if you’re installing a ramp on the side or the back of your house. It’s a good idea to make sure that anyone using a wheelchair trying to get up a ramp can see exactly what they’re doing and where they’re going. You could consider adding additional lighting around the ramp if you feel it is necessary for safety purposes.

Answering those four questions will help you figure out exactly what you need so that any ramp you have installed is the right size, is properly installed, and is as easy to use as possible for anyone entering your house that may have any type of mobility limitations. It’s also wise to project 5-10 years down the line as well—will the user still be able to use the ramp safely and comfortably.

Different Types of Modular Wheelchair Ramps

At APA Medical, our two most popular and dependable modular ramps systems are — the aluminum series and the steel series. The aluminum series offers the highest coefficient of friction for maximum traction, an 800 lbs. weight capacity, and a unique cone-mounted handrail design that is more rigid than standard side-bolted handrails. The aluminum series installs in just hours, is 100% maintenance-free, and, best of all, it comes with a lifetime warranty.

The steel series also installs in just hours, has an 800-lbs. weight capacity, and has a modular design to allow for virtually any design. All components of the steel ramps are coated with a durable, powder-coated finish that makes it far more durable than painted steel ramps. APA’s steel ramps come with a three-year warranty.

Mobility ramps are classified as durable medical equipment (DME). In many states, Medicaid Waivers will cover the cost of ramps, as they are considered home modifications or environmental adaptations. If a mobility ramp is used for a medical purpose, then the ramp is reimbursable through Medicaid—as long as the ramp is medically necessary as declared by a licensed physician.

At APA, we’re empathetic to the fact that you may not know how long you’ll need a ramp. Injuries and the aging process are unpredictable and vary from case to case. If you only need an accessibility ramp for a short time—no problem, our ramps can be rented for short or long-term use. Your first-month rental can be applied to your purchase if you determine that the ramp will be needed more long term. APA Medical can help you assess your home and get it ready for wheelchair ramps, as well as get the inside of your home ready for the use of other mobility products.

Grab Bars: Making Life More Manageable for Everyone

Sep 30
0
APA Insider

Grab Bars Are an Ideal Solution for Anyone with Mobility Issues

Do you know what the most dangerous room in any house is? Most people would probably guess the kitchen, which sees the most activity, and has hot stoves and ovens, as well as sharp utensils. While that’s a pretty good guess, the correct answer is the bathroom. Falls are the most common injuries in the home, and the bathroom, with all of its slippery surfaces, is where most falls occur.

That’s why for anyone with mobility issues, grab bars are such a great addition to the bathroom or anywhere else in the home where more stability is needed. Let’s face it, if you have family or friends who have mobility issues for any reason, you worry about them. We’ve all heard way too many stories of older people falling and hurting themselves. If you have parents or grandparents who are living on their own, or friends who might not have the strength or balance they used to have, grab bars, or wall bars, are a simple and effective way to make their life easier.

Grab Life by the Bar

Grab bars are safety devices designed to enable a person to maintain balance, lessen fatigue while standing, hold some of their weight while maneuvering or have something to grab onto in case of a slip or fall. Grab bars increase accessibility and safety for people with a variety of disabilities or mobility difficulties. Although they are most commonly seen in public accessible toilet stalls, grab bars are also used in private homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes.

Installing grab bars in showers and tubs and next to toilets can make a big difference when reaching for towels, sliding glass doors, or other unstable fixtures.

Grab bars by the toilet help people using a wheelchair transfer to the toilet seat and back to the wheelchair. They also assist people who have difficulty sitting down, have balance problems while seated, or need help rising from a seated position.
Used in a shower or bathtub, grab bars help to maintain balance while standing or maneuvering, assist in transferring into and out of the enclosure, and generally help to mitigate slips and falls.
Floor to ceiling grab bars, or security poles, can be used in the bedroom to help one get out of bed or get up from a chair, or to help care givers by assisting in transfers.

Grab bars can be used in different positions depending on what your needs are. Vertical grab bars can be used to help maintain balance when standing. Horizontal grab bars assist when sitting or rising, or to grab onto in case of a slip or fall.

APA Medical is one of the largest installers of wall bars in the upper Midwest because we offer the best pricing and the best service. APA is the preferred installer for many healthcare groups such as Medica, Ucare, Health Partners and Blue Cross MSHO programs as well as County Waiver programs, with nearly 1,000 bars installed annually. At APA we have been installing grab bars and stair railings for two decades in our customer’s homes, so we understand which areas of the home make you vulnerable and where bars and railings will make you feel safe.

Again, if you have family members or friends who have mobility issues and are living on their own, grab bars are a great addition to the home, providing safety for those living there and peace of mind for their loved ones.