Patient Lifts

A patient lift (patient hoist, jack hoist, hydraulic lift) may be either a sling lift or sit-to-stand lift. This is an assistive device that allows patients in hospitals and nursing homes and those receiving home health care to be transferred between a bed and a chair or other similar resting places, using hydraulic power. Sling lifts are used for patients whose mobility is limited. They could be mobile lifts (or patient floor lifts) or overhead patient ceiling lifts (suspended from ceiling-mounted or overhead tracks). Luckily, Ocelco offers both patient floor lifts and patient ceiling lifts for hospital and home use.

The sling lift has several advantages. These hydraulic patient lifts allow heavy patients to be transferred while decreasing stress on caregivers while also reducing the number of nursing staff required to move patients. It also reduces the chance of orthopedic injury from lifting patients. Patients who have medical conditions that do not allow them to be bent and compressed by the sling as they are hoisted (i.e., cannot withstand "vertical transfer") will require specialized slings which can lift horizontally, or use other assistive devices for transfer.

The sit-to-stand lift is designed to help patients with some mobility but who lack the strength or muscle control to rise to a standing position from a bed, wheelchair, chair, or commode. These hydraulic patient lifts use straps, vests, or belts (as opposed to slings) to make the transition possible.

Sit-to-stand lifts are designed to help patients who lack the strength or muscle control to rise to a standing position from a bed, wheelchair, chair, or commode. They use straps, vests, or belts (as opposed to slings) positioned around the patient's back usually fitting under their arms. They are therefore technically not "sling lifts" which are used for vertical patient transfer. Sit-to-stand lifts fix the patient legs in position exerting pressure on the patient's caves as the belt or strap is tightened by the lift mechanism. This tightening gradually moves the patient's body diagonally into a standing position. Standing is medically beneficial to reduce conditions such as osteoporosis which can occur when a disabled patient's bones weaken over time because they are no longer used support the patient's weight.