The small woman-owned contractor called 1st Senior Care out of Oregon recently won a contract with the US Department of Veteran Affairs for $11,044. The order was for innovative wheelchair scale for the VA Mather Medical Center in Mather, CA.

"The scale is made of four portable pads. The wheelchair alone is moved onto the pads to get its weight without a client. That establishes the tare weight of that particular wheelchair, and it only has to be done once," said Carrie Tabor, president of 1stSeniorCare. "When a client needs to be weighed in that wheelchair, they are just wheeled onto the pad system and weighed. Subtracting the wheelchair's weight from that total number provides the client's weight," she said.

Tabor added, "There are some important advantages of this system:
1. It reduces skin sheer, which occurs with constantly moving a person from one surface to another.
2. It maintains the client's dignity; there are no more hoists or struggling to get weighed.
3. It reduces injuries to caregivers because less physical strength and strain are required.
4. The system is portable and lightweight and can be carried and used almost anywhere."

1stSeniorCare has provided these wireless wheelchair and bed scales to numerous VA facilities across the country. You can find these scales on their website at www.1STSENIORCARE.com, along with hundreds of other products. You can also contact them either by email (Carrie@1stSeniorCare.com), or phone (866-822-7348).