"Hold on tight now," Aunt Li reminded her father. She carefully ensured the support arm of the machine slid securely under the elderly man's armpits and the safety belt around his waist was properly fastened, then watched as it lifted her bedridden father and safely transferred him to the wheelchair beside the bed.

Aunt Li's father is 86 years old. A right cerebral infarction suffered half a year ago left him paralyzed, compounding the effects of a left cerebral infarction he had 18 years prior. For the past six months, he has been under long-term bedridden care at a nursing center.

Even confined to bed, the elderly man still needs to sit up periodically—whether to use the toilet, bathe, or simply move around his room. Every afternoon when Aunt Li visits, she spends some time sitting with him if he is feeling up to it.

Her father can barely express himself clearly anymore, but Aunt Li can see the light in his eyes when he is moved from the bed to the wheelchair. And when wheeled to the building's common activity area to watch TV, his renewed vitality from re-engaging with the community is plain to see.

Previously, caregivers at the center were responsible for helping her father into the wheelchair. Recently, however, the nursing center introduced an Irtme patient lift, and the machine has since taken over this task.

The Insurmountable Chasm for Disabled Elderly People

Aunt Li's father is far from the only elderly resident at the center who struggles to get out of bed unassisted.

There is also Uncle Li, nearly 80 years old and living with semi-disability. After a fall that resulted in a fracture, he has difficulty sitting up during his recovery. This challenge makes his daily trips to the toilet much longer. Worried about being unable to attend to him promptly, his family resorted to using adult diapers.

Though injured, Uncle Li refuses to feel infantilized, and the mere use of an adult diaper weighs heavily on his spirits. Every time he needs to use the toilet, he urgently calls out to his family and caregivers, hoping to be taken to the bathroom. But moving an elderly person is strenuous work. While his family fully understands his desire to maintain dignity, they often struggle physically to assist him.

That is why Uncle Li has become one of the most eager users of the Irtme patient lift since its arrival.

Many elderly individuals require external assistance to move, whether for rehabilitation or daily living needs. For context: among the 106 elderly residents at this nursing center where Uncle Li and Aunt Li's father live, 50 to 60 require wheelchair transfers daily. This group includes those with hemiplegia from cerebral infarction, high paraplegia due to accidents, other physical disabilities, and those with minor, temporary injuries.

Impaired limb function has deprived these elderly individuals of some or all of their ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)—such as eating, dressing, transferring in and out of bed, using the toilet, walking indoors, and bathing. In academic terms, this classifies them as "disabled elderly" or "elderly with functional impairment."

At the nursing center, assisting disabled elderly residents with movement is a daily care task for caregivers. Before residents can go to meals or activities, or embark on any journey in their wheelchairs, they must first be transferred from bed to chair—a move each resident needs an average of 4 to 6 times per day.

These short daily transfers usually cover no more than the distance to another part of the room, or as short as the few feet to the wheelchair right beside the bed. Yet this span of just a few meters, or even tens of centimeters, represents an insurmountable gap for many disabled elderly to cross alone. 

Getting the elderly out of bed is crucial not only for safeguarding their mental health and reducing their sense of social isolation, but also for their physical well-being. Regularly moving them helps reduce the risks of complications associated with prolonged bed rest, such as pulmonary infections, muscle atrophy, and bedsores.

In short, short-distance transfer is an extremely common yet all too easily overlooked need in elderly care.