Superpole™ led to super results

By BevVan Phillips

It was starting to look like trouble. Getting in and out of bed might be the final straw that would drive Stan Martin from his home. Installing a relatively inexpensive floor to ceiling grab bar made what had been a frustrating experience for him and a back breaking job for his wife safe and do-able. The solution along with a few other inexpensive pieces of equipment has worked well for almost a year so far, and he and his wife continue to live in their comfortable and beautifully furnished townhome.

Stan and Karen Martin are Illinois natives that moved to Omaha 49 years ago for Stan’s career at Union Pacific. They raised their family in the area and never left. They down sized in 2017 and moved into their current house, planning to stay there to age in place. At that time, Stan used a walker for long distances, but didn’t need a walker to get around in the home. His weakness and mobility problems due to a medical condition increased faster than either of them expected.

Terry

By late 2021 mobility became a significant issue within the home. He experienced frightening falls with injuries and even sitting on the side of the bed became precarious. His wife Karen pitched in to help but it grew harder to help him move to a sitting position, help him stay upright and get his shoes on.

“I told him that I couldn’t keep helping or it would hurt my back,” she said.

They realized that to be able to accomplish their goal of staying in the home they would need to do something. They didn’t want to make a lot of structural changes to the house and were looking for solutions that would be flexible and easy to modify if Stan’s mobility continued to change.

The floor to ceiling pole, Superpole with Superbar™, was one of the pieces they chose.

Once the pole was in place and he was shown how to use it, he used the pole to sit up and slip his feet out of bed with just a little help from Karen. It was so easy to stand up and reach his walker that he sat back down on the bed and stood extra times during the training session just because he could.

The floor to ceiling pole the Martins selected with the help of their home modification advisor is a Superpole with Superbar™ by Healthcraft Products, Inc. It was installed by a local home modification company. There are a few other manufacturers that also offer floor to ceiling poles.

The Martins selected The Superpole with Superbar™ because it didn’t require Stan to pull a button to move the horizontal bar which would have been hard to do with his Arthritis. The bar locks in place every 45 degrees so he uses it in one position to pull up to sitting and to lie down, and in another position to sit on the side of the bed and to move to a walker or wheelchair.

The Superpole™ system also had accessories to accommodate a tall, angled ceiling. Information about Superpole with Superbar™ can be located on the website https://healthcraftproducts.com.

In addition to the pole itself, a non slip mat on the hardwood floor was purchased to keep his feet from slipping on the floor.

Floor to ceiling poles like the one the Martins selected are as sturdy as grab bars when installed properly, but can be removed if a person’s needs change or they decide to move.

Floor to ceiling poles can be installed by handymen or knowledgeable homeowners. They are not tension bars like a tension shower rod. The poles are lengthened during installation so that they are wedged tightly between the floor and ceiling. Most floor to ceiling poles do not attach to the floor. When the floor is carpeted, the base of the pole will sink into the carpet like heavy furniture.

When an installation is made on carpet it is a good idea to check and see if the pole needs to be slightly lengthened as it compresses the carpet. Some manufacturers recommend and provide holes to use screws to secure the pole to ceiling joists or to blocking.

With the Superpole™it is important to locate the ceiling joists and follow manufacturer’s installation instructions to avoid damage to the ceiling. When properly installed they don’t mar the ceiling including texture on the ceiling.

Stan has been using his Superpole with Superbar™ successfully for eleven months now. At night when he is tired, he still needs a little help moving his feet up into the bed.

Before the installation of the Superpole with bar he needed a great deal of help moving his feet in and out of bed both morning and night. He needed physical help sitting up and then balancing while sitting on the side of the bed. Even though he is now temporarily using a wheelchair, it is still fairly easy for him to sit on the side of the bed and to stand up by himself using the Superpole™.

His wife stated, “He sometimes doesn’t even wait for me. I will just hear him moving the bar on the pole and he is up before I can walk back into the room.”

They reflected that even with professional installation, the total cost of the floor to ceiling grab bar was less than the cost of two days stay in a skilled nursing facility they know of. That is a small price to pay for such a large accomplishment.

BevVan Phillips is an Occupational Therapist with over 35 years experience helping people with home modifications and assistive technology.