Eskaton Care Center Adds New Wheels to Its OT Room

Eskaton Care Center Adds New Wheels to Its OT Room
John Mueggenburg, rehabilitation program manager at Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks, helps a patient exit the PT Cruiser installed in the facility's occupational therapy room. (Photo courtesy of Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks)

John Mueggenburg, rehabilitation program manager at Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks, helps a patient exit the PT Cruiser installed in the facility’s occupational therapy room. (Photo courtesy of Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks)

Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks recently retrofitted its occupational therapy room with a new piece of rehabilitation equipment – a Chrysler PT Cruiser, it announces in a media release.

“There are several physical skills that a person may need to relearn through practice after experiencing an illness or injury,” says John Mueggenburg, rehabilitation program manager at Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks. “Getting in and out of a vehicle is one of these skills.”

After someone leaves the hospital and enters skilled nursing, physical therapy helps the person recover, and sometimes finding new ways to complete everyday tasks is necessary.

“Eventually, a patient will need to get in a vehicle and be transported home,” adds Mueggenburg, an occupational therapist, in the release.

Eight years prior to receiving the vehicle, Mueggenburg envisioned how it could be used to help patients. Working closely with Eskaton’s project manager, Summer Dales, and a local mechanic, Greg Sahr of Rock and Road in Loomis, California, Sahr designed a system that allows a car to lift to specified heights that mimic different makes and models of vehicles.

“This is the only one of its kind,” Dales explains. “It’s ironic the acronym of the vehicle I chose is PT, but very fitting.”

The PT Cruiser was cut in half and mounted on an electric lift system. It enables a person and their family to practice transferring from a wheelchair or walker, avoiding going outside during the hot summer or windy winter that tends to be common in the Sacramento region.

“This innovative technology will better prepare patients and their caregivers, allowing them to go home safely,” Mueggenburg notes.

[Source(s): Eskaton Care Center Fair Oaks, GlobeNewswire]