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Canada’s Growing Demand for Ergonomics in Kitchens…for Aging in Winnipeg Place, for the disabled and the post Surgical

As the first Boomers move into their later 60’s, their growing demand for services, for activity and for health has spurred the demand for ergonomics in kitchen design.

Aging in place is a term used to describe a person living in the residence of their choice, for as long as they are able, as they age. This includes being able to have any services (or other support) they might need over time as their needs change.

To be clear: the act of aging in place takes place during a period of time in an elderly person’s life where they can have the things that they need in their daily life, while maintaining their quality of life.

The reason this distinction is important is because many people think aging in place will fix the problems they have in their lives. The only problems that can be fixed while aging in place are the ones that a person has planned for (i.e. finances, health, personal or health care, etc.).

The kitchen has always been a place for family and socializing. Making changes for aging in place in the kitchen space can greatly increase its usability and the safety of those that live there. With home modification, people will no longer have to spend less time in the kitchen as they age.

In a growing trend observed by the brand Smeg, European consumers are opting for compact appliances to give their kitchens a homogenous look and more efficient arrangement of appliances. Will this trend make it to Canada? to the USA?

One of the most popular trends in kitchen design is the demand for ergonomics with more and more consumers choosing a linear look for the placement of their appliances. Smeg, a leading Italian home appliance manufacturer, has observed this trend with a significant growth in the sales of its compact appliance range.

Smeg is the only brand to offer its appliances in two design styles – the classic stainless steel look and the linear look in stainless steel with glass. Both design styles are made in standard sizes and have matching aesthetics to ensure the kitchen gets a clean and homogenous look.

All standard compact appliances are 600mm wide and 450mm high and designed to be easily installed in a bank at midway level (chest or eye level) or under the bench. Smeg’s current range includes convection ovens with microwave, combination/steam convection ovens, dedicated steam ovens, microwave ovens with grill function and built-in coffee machines.

Appliances play a major role in a person’s ability to use and work in the kitchen safely and efficiently. Appliances that do not incorporate universal design, or that are placed improperly, can inhibit this. Select appliances that display information clearly, have convenient functions and are easy to use. Many appliance makers are incorporating universal design principles in their designs, which allow consumers to get a variety of more functional appliances. You should also consider investing in energy saving appliances, which will help you save money. Currently, the most popular placement of any appliance or storage cabinet is at the midway level since it ensures easy and safe access to a range of appliances without the need to bend or stoop.

As in lifting or reaching mechanics, the placement of load or where you interact with that load is of key importance.

Beware of your biomechanics. Know your Ergonomics.

Know yourPhysio Winnipeg!

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Post-Operation? Surgery? into Rehab yet Winnipeg? need yourPhysio asap…

Joints just say no. Muscles grow weak.

 

We all know the body’s ability to do the mind’s bidding often falters later in life. But the effects of age on function can be especially unforgiving when you’re hospitalized. Knee replacements, hip replacement, arthritis, rotator cuff, spinal fusions, laminectomies, osteotomies…all common surgical procedures happening in Winnipeg everyday.

 

Lying in a hospital bed day after day can quickly undermine one’s mobility. Even though most of the hospital data comes from the USA; our nurses, doctors, hospital staff are experiencing the same trends in healthcare as the Boomers come into their 60s.

 

Hospitals get it. Care plans are developed for patients that prescribe exercise when appropriate. Doctors put in orders for physical therapists to help patients walk and otherwise preserve their mobility.

 

Nurses and assistants often are expected to help patients move, even if it’s just from bed to chair for their dinner.

 

But that doesn’t mean it always happens. When hospital units become swamped with particularly sick patients, preserving mobility can easily slip down the priority list, hospital administrators say.

 

“There’s the ideal world, and then the practical world,” said Liz Ericson-Macke, a nurse, social worker and case-management supervisor with the Franklin County Senior Options Program.

 

“Sometimes just getting people up and walking them may not happen as much as we would like it to.”

 

Michele Weber acknowledges that. While working on her doctorate, the clinical nurse specialist at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center evaluated how well nurses stuck to the mobility guideline for intensive- and critical-care patients.

 

It took persuading, but physicians bought into the guideline that took effect in 2009. They issued a blanket order giving registered nurses greater power to decide when exercise and physical therapy were appropriate during stays in the ICU, which average 5.5 days. A physician’s order is still required for physical therapy, however.

 

In late 2010 and early 2011, Weber examined the care provided to 207 patients — 41 percent of whom were older than 60 — to see whether the guideline was being followed.

 

“We were following protocol 30 to 40 percent of the time,” she said.

 

There were several barriers to improving compliance, including factors beyond the nurses’ control. Some patients refused to exercise. Many hospital rooms are small, with constrained layouts that didn’t lend themselves to the right kind of chair.

 

In some cases, nurses didn’t have the right supportive devices — walkers, canes, gait belts — close at hand. Some equipment didn’t have battery backup so that IVs could remain hooked up to patients when they were up and about.

 

And inadequate staffing levels sometimes hurt compliance.

 

Today, audits show compliance is better, typically between 50 and 60 percent, Weber said. The hospital added the mobility guideline to the orientation process for new critical-care nurses, provided better equipment and balanced staffing.

 

Mount Carmel Health System declined to share similar compliance data. A spokesman for OhioHealth said the hospital system doesn’t have such data.

 

Efforts to get patients moving might seem at odds with another hospital priority: fall prevention. But Weber said there were no adverse outcomes during the OSU research project.

 

The benefits of getting a patient moving early have become more widely recognized, said Dr. Larry Swanner, vice president of medical affairs at Mount Carmel West.

 

“In the past several years, we have increased our focus on physical therapy,” he said.

 

For patients who have had hips or knees replaced, early exercise leads to quicker recovery times. For surgical patients, walking encourages deep breaths and coughing, which reduces the risk of pneumonia.

 

Meanwhile, patients who have undergone abdominal surgery might find that walking stimulates the return of their intestinal function.

 

If a physician orders physical therapy in the morning, it should take place that same day, Swanner said. If it’s ordered late in the afternoon, it should happen the next morning.

 

OhioHealth has been assessing many protocols, including for mobility, through a process-improvement group focused on geriatrics, said Michele Stokes, director of senior health services at the Gerlach Center for Senior Health.

 

“We really have a lot of opportunity across the system to be aware and do more for our elderly patients,” she said.