By Gina Morton
LEWISBURG — Evangelical Community Hospital recently purchased some state-of-the-art equipment that, in the event of an emergency evacuation, would move patients out of the hospital more efficiently.
Prior to receiving the equipment, if there had been an evacuation, hospital personnel would have had to use blankets to carry out patients.
“Four healthy individuals would have to carry a person,” said Gregg Rokavec, director of safety and security at the hospital. Now, instead of blankets, there is a Mobility Offers Versatility (MOV) chair and 15 paraslydes.
With the MOV chair alone, a patient can be moved out quickly and safely with the assistance of just two people, Rokavec said.
The hospital has never had a situation where patients had to be evacuated, but officials agree it’s best to have the equipment on hand.
The MOV chair
With electric power capability, the conveyor chains on the wheels of the MOV chair help officials guide a patient and the chair up and down steps smoothly. The MOV chair can hold up to 500 pounds and rolls like a wheelchair. It can also be pushed like a regular wheelchair as well as tilt back and be used like a stretcher.
The chair will give priority to non-ambulatory, heavier patients, Rokavec said.
The paraslydes
Also purchased by the hospital were paraslydes. The paraslyde is positioned at the bedside and the patient is then placed inside the sled-like object. “Blankets, pillows, oxygen tanks, IVs — they all can go with the patient,” Rokavec said.
Those transporting the patient then grab straps that are at each end and either pull the paraslyde down the hall, or pick up the slyde containing the patient and carry them to safety.
“There can be a bed waiting at the bottom (of the steps)” for the patient, Rokavec said, and then officials can go back up the steps with the slyde and get another person.
The paraslydes have a 350-pound weight limit.
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The price tag
A single Mobility Offers Versatility (MOV) chair costs $5,000 while the paraslydes cost about $200 each. The equipment was purchased with state grant money through the Department of Health dedicated toward training and tools necessary to ease disaster situations. The hospital has been receiving the grant money since 2003. Next year, the hospital hopes to purchase about 10 to 15 barislydes, or slydes with wider and heavier material, to use for obese patients.
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What’s it like to ride a MOV?
By Gina Morton
As I was buckled into the MOV chair, straps were placed over my torso and my hands and feet were Velcroed together.
I was strapped in pretty tight, and unable to move at all. It felt like I was in a wheelchair, minus the arms on the sides.
There were four of us in the stairway of Evangelical Community Hospital: me and our videographer, Justin Engle; Gregg Rokavec, director of safety and security at the hospital; and Lizz Hendricks, hospital public relations assistant.
Hendricks then turned on the chair’s power and a conveyer belt on the wheels began turning.
The chair slowly, and smoothly, began to ascend the steps, with guidance from Hendricks. Once at the top, she guided the chair back downward.
I admit, it was a little scary.
Going up, I was moving up the steps backward. I couldn’t see if anyone was guiding the chair, holding on to it or just letting it have a mind of its own. It didn’t go too fast, but made it up the first flight in less than a minute.
Going back down was just as scary at first, but as it slowly descended I felt more calm. The ride was pretty smooth despite going down steps and I made it to the bottom quickly.
The videographer Justin Engle decided to give it a try it.He laid down in a paraslyde with his arms crossed and was carried down the flight of steps.
However it too was pretty much a smooth ride though “it was kind of coffin-esque .... at first, it felt like going over the first hill of a roller coaster,” he said.
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