The 20 lb patient transfer

This small force is all that is required to transfer the average size person using the balance pivot transfer.  A manual lift can require as much as half the weight of the person and often results in injuries to either party or both.

So how can only twenty pounds do the job.  The balance pivot relies on leverage.  Have you ever moved a refrigerator.   Refrigerators weigh around 300 lbs but can be moved by a person that could never lift 300 lbs. How? By tipping it at an angle onto a set of wheels.  The weight is focused over the two wheels and it moves with a minimum amount of force.

The same is true for your patient.  The Balance Pivot allows the caregiver to tip and balance the patient over the transfer plate.  Their feet are secure and all the weight is transferred through the tibia (lower leg bone) to the plate. Twenty pounds to tip and balance and less than 2 lbs to complete the pivot, hence the name the balance pivot.

The transfer is complete in a few seconds and the method can be safely used with most patients, even if they don’t have the use of any limbs.  There are 5 basic techniques and 9 advanced techniques that allow transferring from wheel chairs, cars, bed and even to higher surfaces.  Transferring does not have to be a dreaded event.  mrswivel.com