Money
Free Medical Equipment for Seniors: Programs That Work
Free medical equipment for seniors usually comes from four places: local medical equipment loan closets, your state Assistive Technology program, Medicaid home and community based services waivers, and disease-specific charities. Medicare Part B covers most durable medical equipment at 80 percent after your deductible, which becomes close to free if Medicaid or a Medigap plan pays the rest.
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Which describes the person you care for?
Walks with help
You are probably looking for a rollator, a raised toilet seat, grab bars or a shower chair. Most of these are low-cost items that Medicare Part B does not always cover, so loan closets and state Assistive Technology programs are your fastest route.
Fit and installation matter as much as getting hold of the item. Grab bars must be anchored into wall studs or solid blocking following the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
That is a job for a competent installer rather than a household guess. A free grab bar screwed into bare drywall is not a safety device.
Suction-cup bars are not weight-bearing safety devices at all, so never let anyone pull up on one or lean their body weight into one.
Rollators, raised toilet seats and shower chairs each carry their own model-specific weight rating and their own fitting requirements. Read the rating label on the item you are actually given.
Have an occupational therapist or physical therapist confirm placement, height and fit before anyone uses it. Start at step 3 below.
Uses a wheelchair, can bear some weight
You may need a wheelchair, a hospital bed, a transfer board or a sit-to-stand aid. Both Medicare and loan closets are realistic here, so work through every step below.
If the equipment offered is a sit-to-stand aid
A sit-to-stand aid is not a full-body lift and it is not for everyone. The person must be able to bear some weight through at least one leg, grip the handles, hold a semi-upright trunk and follow simple instructions. If they cannot do all four, they need a full-body lift instead.
Do not use a sit-to-stand aid if the person has unstable knees, recent hip, pelvic or abdominal surgery, painful or subluxing shoulders, non-weight-bearing orders from a clinician, or fragile, red or broken skin under the sling or knee pad.
An occupational therapist or physical therapist must assess whether a stand aid is appropriate at all, and give you hands-on training on that exact model before the first use. Inspect the stand-aid sling or strap for fraying, torn stitching and any other damage before every single use.
If the equipment offered is a transfer board
A transfer board is not a general-purpose tool either. The person must be able to hold sitting balance, follow instructions and bear some weight through their arms.
A board must not be used if the skin over the buttocks or hips is fragile, red or broken, or after recent hip or pelvic surgery unless the surgeon has cleared it. Sliding a person across a board can shear and tear skin.
A physical therapist or occupational therapist must assess whether a board is appropriate and train you on the specific technique before the first use.
Cannot bear weight
You need a full-body patient lift, slings and likely a hospital bed. This is the most expensive category and the one most worth pursuing through Medicare Part B plus a Medicaid waiver, because loan closet lifts are scarce and often arrive without matching slings.
A lift is a system, so you will need to check the rating on the lift, the spreader bar and the sling separately before you use any of it.
Do not lift a person in a sling until an occupational therapist or physical therapist has trained you on that exact lift and sling. This page is written for all three groups, with extra notes for you.
Before you start
- Write down the person’s current weight. You will be asked.
- Every lift, spreader bar, sling, bed, wheelchair, rollator, shower chair and raised toilet seat has its own rated capacity, and it varies by model.
- Measure the narrowest doorway and the space beside the bed. A lift that will not fit is not help.
- Have both insurance cards in front of you: Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage or supplemental plan.
- Write down the diagnosis in the words the doctor uses. Stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, general frailty and ALS all open different doors.
- Know who the prescribing clinician is and how to reach their office directly.
- Photograph the bedroom and bathroom. Loan closet staff and therapists can tell you a lot from a photo.
- Line up the professional help before the equipment arrives: an occupational therapist or physical therapist for fitting and training, and an installer for anything fixed to a wall.
- Agree your plan for a fall now, before it happens. If the person falls, do not lift them until you have checked for injury.
- If there is pain, deformity, a suspected fracture, a head strike, loss of consciousness, bleeding or new confusion, do not move them: call 911 and keep them warm and still.
- Write one sentence describing what is going wrong right now, for example: “Two of us are lifting her from bed by hand and my back is failing.” That sentence is what qualifies you.
How to get free or low-cost equipment, step by step
Find who already has the equipment
1. Name the exact item you need in writing
Write the item down before you make the first call.
Why: programs search inventory by item, not by story. “Full-body electric patient lift and a large sling” gets a real answer.
2. Ask the hospital discharge planner or social worker before discharge
Ask while the person is still admitted, not after they get home.
Why: hospitals have the shortest path to equipment, and that path narrows once the person is home.
3. Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116
Ask them for your Area Agency on Aging.
Why: this federal service, run under the Administration for Community Living, connects you to the local staff who know which loan closets currently have stock.
4. Search for “[your state] Assistive Technology Program” and call them
Every US state and territory has one, funded under the Assistive Technology Act.
Why: many run free short-term device loans so you can try equipment before committing.
5. Call three local loan closets, not one
Ask each one whether it serves all diagnoses, because some closets are set up for a specific condition or a specific catchment.
Why: inventory changes weekly and depends entirely on donations. The third call is often the one that works.
6. Ask about equipment reuse programs near you
Put the question to your state Assistive Technology program or your Area Agency on Aging.
Why: reuse programs such as Project MEND in Texas sanitize and refurbish donated equipment. There is no single national directory, so local referral is the reliable way in.
7. Contact the disease-specific organization for the diagnosis you wrote down
The ALS Association runs local equipment loan programs at no cost through its chapters and care services staff.
Why: the Muscular Dystrophy Association can help with referrals and, in some chapters, assistance. Stroke, MS and Parkinson’s organizations vary by region, so ask.
Get it funded
8. Ask the doctor for a prescription that documents medical necessity
Medicare Part B requires a clinician to record why the equipment is needed in the home.
Why: “Patient is non-weight-bearing; caregiver cannot transfer safely without a lift” is the kind of wording that gets approved.
9. Confirm your supplier is enrolled in Medicare and accepts assignment
Medicare.gov has a supplier directory.
Why: if the supplier is not enrolled, Medicare pays nothing.
10. Ask your state Medicaid office about a home and community based services waiver
Ask specifically whether a waiver covers this equipment.
Why: waivers can cover items regular Medicaid will not, often at zero cost, but waivers are usually written for a defined population, and eligibility rules and waiting lists are set state by state.
Check it before you accept it
11. Read the rated capacity off the lift, the spreader bar and the sling separately
Treat the lowest of the three as your real limit. If any of the three has no readable label, do not use the system.
Why: each part of a lift system carries its own rating, and an older or smaller donated sling is often rated well below the lift it arrives with.
12. Inspect the rest of the equipment before you accept it or sign for it
Check the brakes, the frame welds, the battery and every sling seam and loop. On a sit-to-stand aid, check the stand-aid sling or strap for fraying and torn stitching as well.
Why: donated items arrive in varying condition.
13. For a hospital bed, confirm the mattress, frame and side rails are a matched set
They must be the matched set the manufacturer intended. If you cannot confirm the parts belong together, do not use the rails and ask the supplier or an OT or PT to assess.
Why: check for gaps at the rail, between rail and mattress, and at the head and foot where a head, neck or limb could become trapped. Mismatched rails and mattresses cause fatal entrapment.
14. For a grab bar, have it anchored into wall studs or solid blocking
Follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions, use a competent installer rather than improvising, and test the fixed bar with your own hands before the person leans on it.
Why: a bar fixed only to drywall or tile can pull out mid-transfer, and suction-cup bars are not weight-bearing safety devices at any time.
15. Write down the make and model, then download that exact manual
Get it from the manufacturer. Joerns Healthcare, Invacare, Drive Medical and Arjo all publish manuals online.
Why: capacities, sling compatibility and lowering procedures differ between models.
Get trained before anyone uses it
16. Book an occupational therapist or physical therapist to fit the equipment in your home
A single home visit sets sling size, bed height, seat and bar heights, and the path you will use. It also establishes whether a sit-to-stand aid is safe for this person at all.
Why: a free lift you use wrongly is more dangerous than no lift.
17. Do not perform any lift with a person in the sling until that therapist has trained you
The training has to cover this exact lift and this exact sling. The same applies to a sit-to-stand aid: no use before hands-on training on that exact model.
Why: this is a requirement, not a suggestion. Sling application, loop selection and lowering technique are model-specific, and the first unsupervised attempt is where people are dropped or injured.
18. Have a second trained person present for your first transfers
Arrange for the therapist, or a second caregiver who has had the same training, to be there.
Why: someone has to watch the person, the sling and the lift at the same time, and a second trained pair of hands is what turns a problem mid-lift into a controlled stop.
19. Run a controlled test lift before you commit to any real transfer
Do it with your trainer or second trained caregiver present.
Why: confirm all sling loops are fully seated on the hooks or clips and that loop lengths match side to side, then raise only until the sling takes the weight, stop, re-check every attachment point, and only then continue. Do this before every lift, not only the first one.
20. Agree in advance what you will do if the person falls
Write it where every caregiver can see it.
Why: after a fall, do not lift the person until you have checked for injury. If there is pain, deformity, a suspected fracture, a head strike, loss of consciousness, bleeding or new confusion, do not move them: call 911 and keep them warm and still.
Lifting from the floor with a mechanical lift should only happen after OT or PT training on that specific lift and, where the manual requires it, with two caregivers.
What each program actually pays for
Four routes cover almost every case. Grants and copay funds that sit alongside them are listed on our financial resources page.
Medicare Part B durable medical equipment
Medicare Part B covers durable medical equipment when a doctor prescribes it as medically necessary for use in the home. According to Medicare.gov, covered items must be durable, used for a medical reason, not useful to someone who is not ill or injured, and expected to last at least three years.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sets those federal definitions. Hospital beds and patient lifts both fall inside that definition when the documentation supports it. Coverage rules for individual items can also reference specific clinical conditions, so ask the supplier what the policy for that item requires the clinician to document.
Before anyone uses a hospital bed, funded or donated, check it for entrapment risk. Confirm the mattress, frame and side rails are the matched set the manufacturer intended.
Check for gaps at the rail, between rail and mattress, and at the head and foot where a head, neck or limb could become trapped. Mismatched rails and mattresses cause fatal entrapment, and reused beds are frequently reassembled with parts from different units.
If you cannot confirm the parts belong together, do not use the rails and ask the supplier or an occupational therapist or physical therapist to assess the bed.
You typically pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible. So Medicare alone is not free. It becomes effectively free when Medicaid, a Medigap policy or a state program picks up the coinsurance.
Medicare also decides whether an item is rented or bought, and hospital beds are commonly rented. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, the rules and the supplier network are set by the plan, so call the plan directly.
If you are denied, ask for the denial in writing and appeal. Denials are often about missing documentation rather than the equipment itself.
Medicaid home and community based services waivers
Home and community based services waivers let states spend Medicaid money on care at home instead of in a nursing facility. Many cover assistive technology, specialized equipment and home modifications.
This is often the only route to a ceiling lift, a bariatric bed or a second sling.
Waivers are usually written for a defined population rather than for anyone with a need. A state may run separate waivers for older adults, for adults with physical disabilities, for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and for people with traumatic brain injury.
Eligibility also depends on income, assets and functional need, and it is genuinely different in every state. Waiting lists exist in some states and not in others.
Start with your state Medicaid office or your Area Agency on Aging. Ask which waiver the person you care for actually fits, and ask specifically about the waiver name for older adults or adults with physical disabilities.
Loan closets and reuse programs
These are non-profits, churches, senior centers, hospitals and volunteer groups that collect donated equipment and lend it out free or for a small donation.
Walkers, wheelchairs, commodes, shower chairs and canes are usually easy to find. Hospital beds and patient lifts are harder and often waitlisted.
Some closets serve only one diagnosis group or one county, so ask about that on the first call. Ask whether they lend or give, whether they deliver, and whether they have a sling that matches the lift.
With a bed, ask whether the rails and mattress came from the same unit as the frame, because reuse programs often build one working bed out of several.
With a shower chair or raised toilet seat, ask for the model name so you can find the rating and the fitting instructions.
With a sit-to-stand aid, ask for the model name and whether the stand-aid sling or strap it comes with is the one the manufacturer specifies for that unit.
Disease-specific programs
The deepest equipment support in the US sits with the ALS Association, whose chapters run loan programs covering items like power wheelchairs, hospital beds, communication devices and lifts at no cost, subject to local inventory.
If you are caring for someone with ALS, contact your chapter early rather than at crisis point.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association supports people with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular conditions, though what each office offers has changed over time and now leans toward referrals and assistance rather than direct equipment. Confirm current offerings with the local office.
No equipment treats or slows any of these conditions. Equipment makes daily care safer, which is a different and worthwhile thing.
Routes at a glance
| Route | Typical cost to you | Realistic wait | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loan closet | Free, donation sometimes requested | Days to weeks, inventory dependent | Walkers, wheelchairs, commodes, shower chairs |
| State Assistive Technology program | Free short-term loan or low-cost reuse | Days to weeks | Trying equipment before committing |
| Medicare Part B | 20 percent coinsurance after deductible | Weeks, longer if denied and appealed | Hospital beds, patient lifts, wheelchairs |
| Medicaid HCBS waiver | Usually zero or very low | Weeks to months, state dependent | Expensive or specialized equipment |
| Disease-specific loan program | Free | Varies by chapter inventory | ALS and neuromuscular conditions |
How to judge equipment you are offered
We do not name specific products on this page. Here is what to check instead, in order of how much it matters. Our guide to transfers and lifts covers the device types themselves.
Rated capacity
Check the rating on the lift, the spreader bar AND the sling label separately. The lowest of the three is your real limit, and it must comfortably exceed the person’s weight.
If any of the three has no readable label, do not use the system. Standard and bariatric versions of the same product line differ substantially.
Rollators, shower chairs, raised toilet seats, sit-to-stand aids and grab bars each carry their own rating too, so find the label on those as well.
Lift range, for lifts
How low it goes matters if you ever need to lift from the floor. How high it goes matters for tall beds and commodes.
After a fall, do not lift the person until you have checked for injury. If there is pain, deformity, a suspected fracture, a head strike, loss of consciousness, bleeding or new confusion, do not move them: call 911 and keep them warm and still.
Floor lifting with a mechanical lift should only be done after OT or PT training on that specific lift and, where the manual requires it, with two caregivers.
Base width and doorway fit
Adjustable legs let the base straddle a wheelchair or toilet. Measure your doorways first.
Sling type, size and condition
The right sling matters more than the brand of lift. Check every seam and loop before each use, not just the first time. The same goes for the sling or strap on a sit-to-stand aid.
Before every lift, confirm all sling loops are fully seated on the hooks or clips, and that loop lengths match side to side.
Raise only until the sling takes the weight, stop, re-check every attachment point, and only then continue. Do not do this with a person in the sling until an OT or PT has trained you on that lift and sling.
Bed rails, mattress and frame, for hospital beds
Confirm they are the matched set the manufacturer intended. Check for gaps at the rail, between rail and mattress, and at the head and foot where a head, neck or limb could become trapped.
Mismatched rails and mattresses cause fatal entrapment. If you cannot confirm the parts belong together, do not use the rails and ask the supplier or an OT or PT to assess.
Prerequisites, for sit-to-stand aids
The person must be able to bear some weight through at least one leg, grip the handles, hold a semi-upright trunk and follow simple instructions.
Do not use one if they cannot, or if they have unstable knees, recent hip, pelvic or abdominal surgery, painful or subluxing shoulders, non-weight-bearing orders, or fragile skin under the sling or knee pad.
An OT or PT must confirm the device is appropriate and train you hands-on on that exact model first.
Fixing and fit, for bathroom equipment
Grab bars must go into wall studs or solid blocking following the manufacturer’s installation instructions, and suction-cup bars are not weight-bearing safety devices.
Raised toilet seats and shower chairs must sit level and locked, at a height that lets the person get up and down safely, which is a judgment for an OT or PT rather than a guess.
Power, brakes and manuals
Electric lifts reduce caregiver strain but need charging. Hydraulic lifts need no battery but require pumping and more caregiver effort.
Brakes must hold firmly. Larger casters roll better over carpet and thresholds.
If you cannot find the manual for that model online, treat that as a reason to choose a different unit. You need the manual for the sling as well as for the lift, and the installation instructions for anything that fixes to a wall.
Common mistakes
Finding and funding the equipment
- Calling one loan closet, hearing no, and stopping. Inventory turns over constantly.
- Waiting until after hospital discharge to ask. The discharge planner has the shortest route and the least time.
- Forgetting to ask about delivery. A free hospital bed you cannot transport is not yet a bed.
- Letting a Medicare denial stand without asking why and appealing.
Checking a lift and its sling
- Accepting a lift without a sling, or with a sling from a different manufacturer. Use manufacturer-approved or documented-compatible slings only.
- Reading only the lift’s capacity label. The spreader bar and the sling carry their own ratings, and the lowest of the three governs the whole system.
- Assuming a capacity figure you found online applies to your unit. Ratings differ by model, and there are standard and bariatric versions of nearly everything.
- Starting a transfer without confirming that every sling loop is fully seated and that the loop lengths match side to side.
- Raising straight through to full height instead of pausing as the sling takes the weight to re-check every attachment point.
- Skipping the manual because the machine looks obvious.
Beds and bathroom equipment
- Putting a donated hospital bed together from mixed parts. Mismatched rails, mattresses and frames create entrapment gaps that can be fatal.
- Fixing a grab bar with suction cups, or screwing one into drywall or tile with no stud or solid blocking behind it.
- Forgetting that a bar which pulls out mid-transfer causes the fall it was bought to prevent.
- Putting a raised toilet seat or shower chair into use without checking its weight rating, and without an OT or PT confirming the height, placement and fit.
Using the wrong device for the person
- Using a gait belt to lift or hold up someone’s body weight. A gait belt is for guiding and steadying only. It is not a lifting device.
- Confusing a sit-to-stand aid with a full-body lift. A sit-to-stand aid requires the person to bear some weight through at least one leg, hold the handles, keep a semi-upright posture and follow simple instructions.
- Carrying on with a stand aid when they cannot do all four. At that point they need a full-body lift instead.
- Using a stand aid with unstable knees, recent hip, pelvic or abdominal surgery, painful or subluxing shoulders, non-weight-bearing orders, or fragile skin under the sling or knee pad.
- Using a sit-to-stand aid without an OT or PT assessment and hands-on training on that exact model.
- Skipping the check of the stand-aid sling or strap for fraying and torn stitching before every use.
- Using a transfer board with someone who cannot hold sitting balance, cannot follow instructions, cannot push through their arms, or has fragile or broken skin over the buttocks or hips.
- Using a transfer board without being trained on the technique first.
Training and falls
- Lifting a person in a sling before an occupational therapist or physical therapist has trained you on that specific lift and sling.
- Doing your first transfers without the therapist or a second trained caregiver present.
- Working alone when two people are strongly recommended: early transfers, complex transfers, bariatric transfers, and any transfer where the person is agitated or unpredictable.
- Hoisting or hauling someone off the floor after a fall without first checking for injury.
- Moving someone who has pain, deformity, a suspected fracture, a head strike, loss of consciousness, bleeding or new confusion. Call 911 and keep them warm and still.
When this stops working
Signs the device has been outgrown
Borrowed equipment tends to lag behind need. A loan closet wheelchair is fine until seating pressure becomes a problem, and a hydraulic lift is fine until your own back gives out.
A transfer board stops being appropriate the moment sitting balance or skin integrity slips, and that is a reason to ask for a reassessment rather than to push through.
A sit-to-stand aid stops being appropriate the moment the person can no longer bear weight through a leg, grip the handles, hold a semi-upright trunk or follow instructions. At that point they need a full-body lift and new training.
Weight change and repeated falls
Weight change is a trigger. If the person gains weight, re-read the ratings on the lift, the spreader bar and the sling, because the lowest of the three may no longer clear their weight.
Falls are a trigger too. Repeated falls mean the current equipment or setup is not matching the person, and they need a fresh assessment rather than a stronger caregiver.
Moving up to the next funding route
When you find yourself working around the equipment rather than with it, that is the signal to move up a route: from loan closet to Medicare, or from Medicare to a Medicaid waiver. That is where funding for custom seating, bariatric equipment and ceiling lifts usually lives.
Ask for a new occupational therapy or physical therapy evaluation at that point. A fresh assessment is what generates the documentation the next funder needs, and it is also where you get retrained on any new equipment.
If two trained caregivers can no longer complete transfers safely at home, that is a care planning conversation, not an equipment problem.
Common questions
How do I get a hospital bed for free?
Two realistic routes. First, a loan closet or equipment reuse program, which costs nothing but depends on donations and may waitlist.
Second, Medicare Part B, which covers hospital beds as durable medical equipment when documented as medically necessary, usually as a rental. You pay 20 percent unless Medicaid or a supplemental plan covers that share.
Whichever route you use, confirm before anyone sleeps in the bed that the mattress, frame and side rails are the matched set the manufacturer intended.
Check for gaps at the rail, between rail and mattress, and at the head and foot where a head, neck or limb could become trapped. Mismatched rails and mattresses cause fatal entrapment. If you cannot confirm the parts belong together, do not use the rails and ask the supplier or an OT or PT to assess.
How do I find a medical equipment loan closet near me?
Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 and ask for your Area Agency on Aging, then ask them for every loan closet in the county.
Also call your state Assistive Technology program and your local senior center. There is no complete national directory, so local phone calls beat searching.
Ask each closet whether it serves all diagnoses and all of your county, because some serve only a specific condition or catchment.
Is free used equipment safe?
It can be, but refurbishment standards vary widely between programs. Inspect the frame, brakes and battery yourself, and check every sling seam and loop for fraying or damage before each use.
Read the capacity rating on the lift, the spreader bar and the sling separately. The lowest of the three is your real limit, and if any of the three has no readable label, do not use the system.
On a hospital bed, confirm the mattress, frame and side rails are a matched set with no gaps that could trap a head, neck or limb. On a sit-to-stand aid, check the stand-aid sling or strap for fraying and torn stitching before every use.
On bathroom equipment, check the rating, make sure a shower chair or raised toilet seat sits level and locked, and have any grab bar anchored into studs or solid blocking rather than relying on suction cups.
Download the manual for that exact model. Do not lift a person in a sling until an OT or PT has trained you on that lift and sling. If anything is damaged or unlabeled, return it rather than repairing or working around it.
What should I do if the person falls?
Do not lift them straight away. Check for injury first, and ask them what hurts if they can answer.
If there is pain, deformity, a suspected fracture, a head strike, loss of consciousness, bleeding or new confusion, do not move them at all: call 911, and keep them warm and still until help arrives.
If they are clearly uninjured and able to help themselves, they can be assisted up slowly. A mechanical lift should only be used from the floor if an occupational therapist or physical therapist has trained you on that specific lift and, where the manual requires it, with two caregivers present.
Tell their clinician about every fall, even the ones with no injury, because repeated falls are a reason to reassess the equipment and the setup.
Can I get equipment help if the diagnosis is not ALS?
Yes. Loan closets, state Assistive Technology programs, Medicare Part B and Medicaid waivers generally turn on documented functional need rather than on one particular diagnosis.
Stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury and general frailty can all qualify when a clinician documents why the equipment is needed at home.
There are real limits to that, though. Many Medicaid waivers are written for specific populations, for example older adults, adults with physical disabilities, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, or people with traumatic brain injury, so ask your state Medicaid office which waiver the person fits.
Some loan closets serve only certain diagnoses, and Medicare coverage rules for particular items such as hospital beds reference specific clinical conditions in the documentation. Ask each program what it requires rather than assuming the door is open.
Medicare denied our lift. What now?
Ask for the denial in writing and read the stated reason. Most denials come from thin documentation, not from the equipment being excluded.
Ask the prescribing clinician to add specifics on weight-bearing status, transfer attempts and caregiver risk, then appeal.
Meanwhile, pursue a loan closet so you are not unsafe while waiting.
Do these programs cover slings and accessories?
Sometimes. Medicare can cover slings as part of patient lift coverage when prescribed. Loan closets frequently hand over a lift with no sling or a mismatched one.
Always ask specifically about slings, sizes and quantity, because most households need more than one and washing days leave gaps.
Check the rated capacity printed on each sling as it arrives, because a replacement sling can be rated lower than the lift, and the sling rating would then govern the whole system.
Ask your OT or PT to check any new sling on the lift with you before you use it with the person in it.
Have a therapist watch you
Ask your occupational therapist or physical therapist to watch you do this before you rely on it. A short in-person check catches things no written guide can.
Use caution
- Free equipment is nearly always used equipment. Loan closets clean and inspect to varying standards, and some volunteers are not clinically trained.
- Never assume a donated lift matches the sling that came with it, and never rely on a capacity figure you read on a website.
- A lift is a system: the lift, the spreader bar and the sling each carry their own rating, and the lowest of the three governs.
- Read all three labels on the equipment in front of you, then read each model’s manual.
- If any label is missing or unreadable, do not use the system until the manufacturer or supplier confirms its rating.
- Do not lift a person in a sling until an OT or PT has trained you on that lift and sling, and have that therapist or a second trained caregiver present for the first transfers.
- A sit-to-stand aid needs the same discipline: an OT or PT decides whether the person meets the prerequisites and trains you on that model, and you inspect the sling or strap before every use.
- After a fall, do not lift the person at all until you have checked for injury.
- With a donated hospital bed, confirm the mattress, frame and side rails are the matched set the manufacturer intended before anyone sleeps in it.
- With bathroom equipment, fit and fixing are the safety features: grab bars must be anchored into studs or solid blocking, and suction-cup bars are not weight-bearing.
- A raised toilet seat or shower chair that is the wrong height or the wrong rating for the person is a fall waiting to happen.
Stop and get help
- The person has fallen. Do not lift them, with hands or with a lift, until you have checked for injury.
- After a fall there is pain, deformity, a suspected fracture, a head strike, loss of consciousness, bleeding or new confusion. Do not move them: call 911 and keep them warm and still.
- A donated lift or sling shows frayed webbing, torn stitching, cut edges, cracked or bent welds, or brakes that do not hold.
- The lift, the spreader bar or the sling has a missing capacity label. Return it and ask for a different unit rather than repairing, modifying or bypassing any safety feature.
- A sling loop is not fully seated, the loop lengths do not match side to side, or the sling shifts as it takes the weight. Lower the person back to the surface and start again.
- The person can no longer bear weight through a leg, grip the handles, hold a semi-upright trunk or follow instructions on a sit-to-stand aid.
- The stand-aid sling or strap is frayed or torn. Stop and ask an OT or PT to reassess.
- A hospital bed has gaps at the rail, between rail and mattress, or at the head or foot, or you cannot confirm the rails, mattress and frame belong together.
- A grab bar moves, flexes, creaks or pulls at its fixing, or a raised toilet seat or shower chair rocks, slides or does not sit level.
- You are being asked to lift a person in a sling before an OT or PT has trained you, or to run a full-body lift alone for the first time.
- The person shows new severe pain, a suspected fracture, or sudden breathing difficulty during a transfer attempt. Lower them to a safe surface and call their clinician.
Related
This guide is educational and does not replace hands-on training. Before using any transfer equipment, have a physical or occupational therapist assess the person you care for and demonstrate the technique in person. Always follow the manufacturer instructions for your specific model.