Three Comments on Stair Lift Solutions Last Week

“Deborah, we bought one. I turned you over to my husband, Richard. Love it and don’t know what I did without it before. It also means I can have Thanksgiving dinner here this year and my 96 year old aunt can make it upstairs. We are most impressed with you, your product and your company.” Karen S. Garden Valley, CA

“Peter Lamoureux, your sales representative, was here today and I would like to express my gratitude to you in your choice of personnel. Peter is polite, sympathetic, business oriented and very detailed in his description of your stairlifts. Peter made me feel comfortable with his presence immediately, understood my financial plight and extremely helpful. I purchased two lifts from Peter toda…y that will be installed Thursday or Friday and am looking forward to my husband using the lifts to make his homecoming as a parapalegic comfortable and to give him access to his upstairs bedroom and the ability to access the kitchen as he loves to cook. With Peter’s help I was able to purchase two used lifts and be able to operate within a very tight budget. When the time comes that we no longer will need the lifts they will be returned to Silver Cross. Hopefully another deserving person will be able to use them and appreciate them as much as Howard and I will. Howard’s home-coming in a week or so will be much brighter for him, who was an active person and has suddenly lost the use of his lower body. To be able to sleep in his own bedroom, prepare meals as he was accustomed to and to have access to more than one room in our quad level home is truly a Gift from God. Thank you ever so much,”

Connie & Howard De Y. Crete, IL

“Your reps visited us and we were impressed by theirHandling of the situation . They were thoughtful and explained every aspect of the installation to be sure we understood . Jason and Wade get top marks from us . “Victoria, BC.

Top 5 things to consider in selecting a wheelchair ramp

1. Slope – one foot of ramp for each inch of height drop.  An example would be if you had a 12″ drop in height then the ramp should be 12 feet long.  This is especially important to adhere to this rule if they wheelchair user is self propelling the chair.  If you have a 36″ drop in height then usually a porch lift would be a better alternative than a wheelchair ramp.  In addition, a ramp that is more that 15 ft. long should be followed by a 5 ft landing.  The purpose of this landing is permit the wheelchair user or the person pushing the wheelchair a chance to rest before pushing the wheelchair up the balance of the ramp.

2. Transition to Ramp – Many wheelchair ramp builders do not pay attention to the need for a smooth transition as the  wheelchair meets the beginning of the ramp.  It is absolutely critical to have NO bump whatsoever.  If you ever want to prove the importance of this fact get in a wheelchair and try and drive it over any bump.  It is extremely difficult to do.  The reason many ramp builders do not pay attention to this detail is usually because it is difficult for them to build a wheelchair ramp with absolutely no bump. There are basically two ways to do this. One is to submerge the first 2″x6″ into the ground which could take an extra hour or two of work.  If the base of the ramp is concrete then this task could take more time.  The other way to eliminate any bump is cut the 2″x6″ on a “cant” angle which is an angle cut that will result in no bump in the ramp transition.

3. Ramp  Edge – It is important to border the edge each side of the ramp with a 2″x4″ so as to prevent the front casters of the wheelchair from being falling over the ramp side.  This is simple to do yet many ramp builders do not follow this step in the ramp construction.

4. Threshold Height – If you have an existing porch at the upper level, it is critical to increase the porch deck level to be the same height as the door threshold.  Many home owners eliminate this step and do not include their deck as part of the ramp project.  Using a short aluminum ramp to gain entrance to the house is not good solution and defeats the purpose of the entire ramp goal.

5. Non Slip Surface – A ramp must have a non slip surface so that both the wheelchair user and the caregiver can safely propel the wheelchair under rain or snow weather conditions.

Another solution to a ramp may be an exterior stair lift.

Increased Demand for Recycled Health Care Equipment

There have been three major trends in the media for the past few months:
1. Many countries in the world are concerned with attempting to balance their budgets.
2. Health care costs will continue to rise as the population ages.
3. The government’s ability to fund health care equipment will be substantially reduced due to budget constraints.
The demand for recycled health care equipment will increase dramatically as government spending decreases over the next few years. Bottom line is that more and more families will need to pay for their own home health care equipment needs in the near future. Many products like stair lifts, power chairs, scooters, vertical lifts, patient lifts and rollators have a life span of 10 years. The average user’s needs of these products change on the average every 3 years. The core of the SILVER CROSS mandate is to organize the recycling of home accessibility and mobility equipment so that health care professionals and families can obtain the products they need to maintain their independence and lifestyle.

Arthritis may be eliminated by using your own stem cells

I have been tracking the research in the UK in regards to how stem cell research may lead to growing cartilage in knees and hips. The results are extremely positive with hopes to have this technique in place within 5-10 years. http://www.cellmedicine.com/replacing-hip-replacements/ This one technique, once perfected, will eliminate the need for replacement surgery and eliminate the pain millions suffer daily due to arthritis.

Help loved ones with healthcare equipment

SILVER CROSS is looked at as a objective source of product, supplier, installer and customer satisfaction follow up for the entire lift and mobility industry.

We welcome this challenge. But it comes with a few heart felt challenges….

We at SILVER CROSS head office receive more calls across the world that are concerning.

Calls from product end users that are finding the follow up and support poor from a few main stream manufacturers. We will NOT name these companies but rather let the end user determine who they are themselves.

It is my goal as the founder of SILVER CROSS to raise the bar on customer satisfaction within the entire home health care equipment industry and have SILVER CROSS lead the way in having the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the world.

SILVER CROSS USA meets in Lenexa, Kansas

Franchisees from various locations across the USA met in Lenexa, Kansas on June 24th. Great meeting followed by a visit to Harmar Summit, a lift manufacturer just outside of Kansas City, KS followed by a ball game.

New Incline Wheelchair Lift Launched

SILVER CROSS franchise owners viewed the new Summit incline lift Lake Winnebago, MO on Saturday. Mike Voigt presented the new wheelchair lift to the SILVER CROSS franchisees. Mike and his design team continue to design, build and manufacture unique accessibility products for the physically challenged. The unique feature of this lift is the fact that the rail that the supports the platform mounts to the stairs.

Most incline wheelchair lifts in the past depended on the rails to be mounted on the wall. This meant a more complicated installation process and depended on the wall strength. Congratulations to Summit Stair Lifts for using their stair lift rail and adapting their new incline wheelchair lift to use a stair mounted rail.

Scare Tactics Used in Stair Lift Sales

SILVER CROSS receives hundreds of emails and calls weekly.

There is a trend for the past year or so that one stair lift supplier
that sells direct to the end user continues to use unethical
methods in their sales process.

They continually criticise electric powered stair lifts by using scare tactics.

They obviously offer battery operated stair lifts.

Their criticism on electric powered stair lifts is based on….

1. Their opinion is that there is some danger in using a stair lift that is powered by
electricity and directly plugged into a receptacle.

2. There is a possibility of electric shock to the stair lift user.

3. That if the electricity goes out in the home, the lift would not work.

Our response is that if this is true, then homeowners should not use a fridge,
stove, microwave, furnace or air conditioning in their home.

In other words, we do not agree with the ethics of this stair lift
supplier in using scare tactics that are unfounded.

We do not endorse electric powered stair lifts over battery
operated stair lifts.

We strongly disagree with any company or manufacturer that
gives false information in their sales process.

SILVER CROSS surpasses 195,000 client milestone

Bob Harvey, SILVER CROSS founder, is pleased to announce that since 1993 over 195,000 clients have been assisted with the SILVER CROSS service. The SILVER CROSS mandate since inception 18 years ago has been to assist the physically challenged find a lower cost source for home health care equipment.

Stair lifts, scooters, wheelchairs, rollators, hospital beds, patient lifts, lift chairs, roll in showers, home elevators, ceiling lifts and wheelchair ramps are some of the products offered.

The SILVER CROSS service continues to offer more recycled equipment than any other source in North America. Combining new with used, accepting trade ins of common/current models and offering buy backs on many products are the key features of the SILVER CROSS service.

SILVER CROSS at Vancouver Franchise Show

Brian Chuipka from SILVER CROSS is at the Vancouver Franchise Show on April 16th and 17th. at
Vancouver Convention Centre
East Building, Hall C
999 Canada Place
Vancouver, British Columbia

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