PT/OT

Interprofessional Teamwork Achieves Toileting Success

June 24, 2020 by Tiffany Klein, PT, Sarah Quirk, COTA, Catherine Keir, OT and Laura Arnett, PT
A young man using the Rifton Support Station with the assistance of a caretaker

Here at Maiden Choice School in Baltimore County, MD, we have initiated a program called Maximizing Independence in Life Skills: A Toileting Program for Students with Complex Disabilities. Over the last four years since we began it, this program has had a huge impact on the entire student body.

PT/OT Six Features To Love About the Support Station December 19, 2017 by Elena Noble, MPT
A therapists assists a young man in a sit to stand transfer for toileting at the Support Station.
When we’re talking about activities of daily living, it doesn’t get more basic—and more personal—than toileting. But the process of toileting is also a valuable opportunity to teach transfer, standing and hygiene skills—all essential to building independence in self-care. A successful and thoroughly dignified approach to incorporating these skills into the toileting routine is...
PT/OT Implementing a New and Successful Toileting Program in the Educational Setting February 02, 2016 by Nadine Wallace, PTA, Kathryn Burgwin, PT and Jessica Burton, PT
A teacher assist a student with special needs who is actively participating in toileting motor skills development
The Day School at The Children’s Institute is an approved private school in Western PA.  We have 186 students with 27 classrooms. We provide a school program for students with multiple disabilities and for students with autism. All of our students present with severe disabilities affecting motor control, cognition and/or behavior. We have been using MOVE (Mobility Options Via Education) here at...
PT/OT The Importance of the Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Movement Today July 29, 2014 by Lori Potts, PT
A therapist uses a Rifton TRAM to safely handle a patient moving them from a seated position on a hospital bed to a standing and mobile position.
Wendy Weaver, the Executive Director of the Association of Safe Patient Handling Professionals (ASPHP) was interviewed by Rifton's Lori Potts, PT, and spoke about the history of the Safe Patient Handling & Mobility movement. They discuss the founding of ASPHP and its important role in the healthcare sector today, carrying the Safe Patient Handling & Mobility movement forward into the future.
PT/OT Hygiene and Self Care for Your Patients September 17, 2013 by Lauri Cohen OTR/L
support station feature easy transfers
As an occupational therapist, one of my main goals has been to foster independence in my patients. For one, Randy, this independence centered on the area of hygiene and self-care. When I first met Randy he presented with developmental delays and underlying musculoskeletal impairments that affected his ability to move independently and perform age-appropriate transfers and functional activities. In standing...
PT/OT Function-based Practice: The Rifton Support Station April 10, 2012 by Nancy Papa Doran, OT
toilettransferriftonsupportstation_feature
As an Occupational Therapist I view toileting as a functional life skill, not as an interruption to the day. The product that makes this possible is the Rifton Support Station. For each of the more than twenty students on my caseload I incorporate a toileting objective on their IEP.  And for those students using the Support Station, I will work with them once a day for their toileting routine. I never...
Evidence Based Practice Safe Patient Handling Evidence-Based Practice March 27, 2012 by Elena Noble, MPT
A therapist practices safe patient lifting by transferring a woman from a treatment table using the Rifton TRAM
Safe patient handling is big. Some states have already passed legislation supporting this trend in healthcare and many hospitals and institutions are implementing “no lift” or “zero lift” programs with much success. In these instances success is described in terms of decreased staff injuries, decreased workers’ compensation monies, and improved patient experience. There is a...
Tips & Advice Toileting At School: Solved October 14, 2008
A young man demonstrating the use of the Rifton Support Station with the aid of a caregiver.
I had a dilemma at the beginning of the school year. A new student with physical disabilities enrolled, making it hard for us to change him in our handicapped bathroom. We did not have enough space to install a changing table. When I began to look into changing tables, I looked up the Rifton website. They had a new concept for changing: the Rifton Support Station. I called for a catalog. The staff...
Stories Finally - For Kristen September 23, 2008
A young woman by a Rifton Support Station.
Cynthia is an itinerant teacher for orthopedically impaired students and an assistive technology consultant in Northern California. In school, it always took two adults to transfer Kristen for toileting. She assisted to the best of her ability but as she grew, this became increasingly difficult for all involved. She is now in middle school and is a fashionable young lady concerned with being hip...
Stories Francie’s Story August 27, 2008
A young woman with a caregiver in a classroom.
Cindi Spink is the Director of the Day Program at Chesapeake Care Resources in Northeast, MD. Over the last ten years, Francie (not her real name) had lost her ability to stand and transfer. She became totally dependent on staff for all her ADL’s, and gained a lot of weight. We gave up toileting because she refused to stand. Three or four people had to lift her onto the raised changing table and...
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