Introducing “Pacer Positioning in Depth,” a new video series with Cathy Ripmaster, MSPT. We’ll talk about the various Pacer support and positioning components, and demonstrate how to use them to improve functional gait outcomes for users with different positioning needs.
[00:00] Hi, my name is Cathy Ripmaster, I’m a physical therapist from Lincoln Developmental Center, which is a center-based program in Kent County, Michigan, that services students with severe multiple impairments between the ages of five to twenty-six. I am also a MOVE™ International trainer. MOVE stands for Mobility Opportunities Via Education or Experience. I have recently partnered with Rifton Equipment to develop a series of instructional videos for the Rifton Pacer.
[00:29] To get the most out of these videos, I highly recommend that you have a Pacer that you can get into yourself, and you make adjustments along with me in the videos. This is actually a technique that I use to train my staff; and they have found it very useful and helpful so that they can know what the adjustments feel like, and they can also have insight on what the adjustments can do, not only for comfort but also for function. I really would like to empower you so that you have the skills that are needed to problem solve when your person is not walking…maybe they just don’t quite look right or maybe they’re just really uncomfortable… These videos can be helpful to any kind of therapist, parents, caregivers, really anyone who’s getting an individual up in a Pacer on a regular basis.
[01:20] The Rifton Pacer is adaptable. It’s universal, and it’s a really dynamic piece of equipment. And the adjustments on the Pacer are endless and without the need for any kind of tools at all. You can be very creative to achieve positioning for individuals with severe impairments to those that have a mild physical impairment. The Rifton Pacer was designed to support an individual with significant needs that needs vertical positioning for health benefit, but also to support an individual for functional or therapeutic walking who may need full support, and those who may be transitioning out of needing any support at all. When used in conjunction with the MOVE Program, your team can come up with a systematic way of reducing the amount of prompts on the Pacer.
[02:14] It is my privilege to be able to share my experiences with you about the Rifton Pacer. I hope that you find this series of videos helpful, and if you have any kind of special topics or challenges that you’ve had with the Pacer, please let us know and we can see if it could be useful for you and for others as well. Thank you so much for your time and please share these videos with your colleagues and your parents that you might work with. Thank you so much.
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