Unicare introduces new seating technologies at aged care seating seminar
Seminar: Effective Seating Solutions for Aged Care
– Residential & Community
Wednesday, 25 May 2022
The Camfield, Burswood
“When we seat someone, we are not just seating them in a chair. We’re looking at enabling them to perform at their optimal function level.”
Trending as one of the most popular seminars on our list of training courses, we were delighted to offer our Effective Seating Solutions for Aged Care Seminar for the fifth year.
We unicare about bringing updated seating knowledge to this seminar every year, and thrilled to see an increasing number of clinicians involved in prescribing seating systems join us. We are overjoyed to see how useful this seminar has become for occupational therapists and physiotherapists looking to advance their seating skills, and thankful to be the ones delivering it well.
As the leading equipment provider to hospitals, aged care, disability and community providers across the state, we are fortunate to be working in partnership with major healthcare providers in an endeavour to improve the way seating is prescribed. This seminar was designed to provide clinicians with the knowledge and skills to develop effective seating systems to maintain comfort, pressure injury prevention, posture management and function.
Delivered by Unicare Health’s Clinical Educator and Trainer – Annette Terranova, this course covered:
- Principles of positioning and seating intervention as related to the aged
- Factors that can impact seating and positioning
- Assessment and Client Measurements
- Seating system selection
- Transport approved seating guidelines and options
- The opportunity to review and compare commonly used and available seating options
Annette began her presentation by discussing the role of seating for the elderly and the common seating challenges they face. Sharing case studies and pictures of seating systems she was invited to consult on, Annette discussed challenges in aged care environments and interventions that could have been implemented to prevent poorly prescribed seating systems.
She discussed what “optimal” seating provides and should provide for our elderly users, such as postural stability, pressure care, and manual handling.
“Don’t ignore comfort. If your client is comfortable in their chair, they are more likely to be enabled in other ways and reduce behaviours of concern.”
Annette also talked about costs when prescribing seating systems and encouraged attendees to look at a client’s diagnosis, management of functional decline, as well as long term goals.
“All of us are built differently; thus, we sit differently. Out-of-the-box wheelchairs are not suited for full-time users, and neither do they answer all our needs. Opting for a cheaper option now may weigh up being the most expensive if your client ends up being challenged with posture issues, pressure injuries or ongoing functional decline that your out-of-the-box wheelchair cannot accommodate.”
Using Unicare’s range of wheelchairs, Annette compared the differences between standard wheelchairs and custom scripted wheelchairs and what kind of seating structures can be achieved on different chairs.
Through visual demonstrations, she taught clinicians how to review the composition of wheelchairs and the importance of analysing their clinical features to support a variety of users.
Annette compared different out-of-the-box wheelchairs such as Sunrise’s Breezy BasiX, and Ansa Tourer wheelchairs, pointing out differences in their frame, adjustability, seating structure and backrests. She discussed how important it is to understand these clinical features when prescribing wheelchairs.
“Will your client require flip back or removable armrest to manage transfers? Will they benefit from a height-adjustable armrest? Will a scripted chair provide more adjustability to meet mid-term and long-term goals?”
Everyone loved Annette’s presentation on Regency Care Chairs and had a good laugh from the moment she asked “What is the role of pillows in seating? What does it encourage? Why do we use them?”
She taught everyone how to use the functions of a Regency Care Chair to achieve good seating and positioning and reduce manual handling. “Let the chair do the work!”, she stressed.
Annette demonstrated how to use the Sertain Electric XL Care Chair‘s electric features, such as power backrest recline, seat tilt, legrest adjustment, and hi-lo seat function, to reduce manual handling tasks and improve caregiver safety when caring for our larger population. “Think about 50kg Lucy who looks after 120kg Mr Smith who is more than twice her size. Lots of our care workers are physically smaller than than the people they are employed to look after…”
Annette introduced attendees to the new Quickie Q series Power Wheelchairs by Sunrise Medical, using them to demonstrate the differences between wheelbases & turning circles, achievable seating structures and positioning features.
“The Quickie Q300 is one of the narrowest & most compact powerchairs with the smallest turning circle on the market. It has a crash-tested captains’ seat with a fold-down backrest, 4-point tie downs. These can be significant features for 70 year old Mrs Jones but … ”
Packed with the latest and greatest performance features, she demonstrated how the enabling power of technology can play a new and significant role in achieving better seating solutions.
Annette also discussed seating in the context of shower commodes. “Many accidents happen in the shower, and we must consider a shower commode seat just as we would other seats. How should we be encouraging our aged population to sit when they are toileting or showering?”
She also examined a range of seat cushions such as the all-time favourite Ansa Alova, Action Pilot Gel, Equagel and showed the audience how JAY cushions, such as the Jay Union and Jay 2 Deep Contour and Jay Fusion, are made to provide better stability and pressure care.
She introduced the all new JAY Fusion cushion with Cryo Fluid Technology – a revolutionary technology that features millions of microbeads filled with paraffin wax to provide better microclimate.
She also compared the JAY Fusion cushion with fluidized gel and JAY Fusion cushion with air inserts and talked about how to use them to accommodate asymmetrical postures and changing needs.
She also introduced Permobil‘s all-new ROHO Hybrid Select Cushion that combines the positioning capability of a contoured foam base and air-filled cells for gold standard offloading of pressure areas.
Clinicians enjoyed an insightful time at the seminar, discussing seating strategies and learning how to effectively prescribe seating solutions to support our aging population.
Thank you
To everyone who attended this seating seminar, thank you for your awesome feedback and for spending your day with us. An effective seating system can make a tremendous impact to the quality of someone’s life. We trust that our education sessions will impact the way you continue to prescribe equipment solutions to achieve better seating outcomes.
We unicare about bringing updated seating knowledge to this seminar every year and appreciate your continued support and partnership that has made this another winning Unicare training event.
The quest to deliver better seating methods touches and engages all who are challenged with providing quality aged care. We are grateful to know how beneficial this education has been for the industry, and honoured to be the ones delivering it well. #morethancare
❤ We love working with all of you. ❤
