Does Certification for your Walk in Bathtub Matter?

Standards touch your life every day. Products that you encounter and use in daily life should be expected to conform to certain standards and certifications. Whether you are using your toaster, driving your car, using the elevator in a building or purchasing clothing or toys for your children, we all look to standards to ensure that product quality conforms to our expectations.

Canadian Standards International states “A standard is a document that has been prepared, approved, and published by a recognized standards organization, and contains rules, requirements, or procedures for an orderly approach to a specific activity. Standards may include product design requirements, test methods, classifications, recommended practices, and other considerations.

Many standards define safety requirements intended to reduce the risk of personal injury due to electrical shock or fire. Some standards set levels of performance for products. Some address social concerns, such as how our environment is managed or how information is used.” http://www.csa-international.org/who_accepts_csa/

For manufacturers, the process of certification is time consuming and very expensive. That cost is in-turn passed on to you the consumer, but it means a higher quality product and you can be confident that the manufacturer has put great effort into ensuring your safety. It also means that a product will be compatible with other household components such as electricity and plumbing.

There are a variety of walk in bathtubs on the market today with a great range in price. Those that are selling at an unbelievably low price are often not certified to Canadian and US standards. This may be because the manufacturer has just not wanted to spend the time or money to certify the product or it may be because the product is being manufactured in a country where such standards are not important.
When a qualified installer comes to do a walk in bathtub installation in your home, he/she must abide by the rules set out the trade industry which insist that the product being installed conform to CSA/UL standards for Canada and the US. If the product and or its components are not certified, a tradesperson cannot install it without putting his license as a tradesman in jeopardy. If there are problems with the product in regards to quality or safety you can go back to the manufacturer and expect to have the problem corrected.

A walk in bathtub is expected to ensure safe bathing for the user. What can be more important than safety, particularly to those who are most vulnerable, seniors and those with disabilities?

Does walk in bathtub certification matter? Yes, of course it does and though there may be models on the market that are so much less money than others, pay attention to their certification – it may mean the difference in your safety and yes, in even getting it installed.

For further information on safe bathing and walk in bathtubs visit http://www.safetybath.com

The Price you Pay for a Walk in Bathtub

There is much to do about the price one must pay for a walk in bathtub. With prices varying from the $3500 range to well above $10,000, it seems that the “luxury” of a walk in bathtub is unaffordable for many.

There is, however, another way to look at the cost of the walk in bathtub. Those who are in most need of a walk in bathtub are the elderly and those with handicaps. At some point in time, the need becomes a definite necessity and without being able to bathe and attend to personal hygiene safely, the alternative is some form of assisted living.

The move to an assisted living facility or care home is the end of independence for someone who is accustomed to feeling they can care for themselves. It is also very expensive. One month’s stay in a facility will cost a minimum of $1000.

In that light, a walk in bathtub becomes an economical alternative by allowing the user to remain at home, bathing safely and independently. With a number of programs available to assist financially with a walk in bathtub purchase, the price you pay for a walk in bathtub makes a lot more sense.

How to Find Financial Assistance for your Walk in Bathtub Purchase

• When it comes to purchasing a walk in bathtub many people find the cost prohibitive. Those people who most likely need such a bathtub are seniors or those with disabilities who are on fixed incomes. So what is one to do?
  
  Here are a number of possible Canadian and US resources that can help you if you need financial assistance when purchasing a walk in bathtub.
  
  CANADIAN RESOURCES
  
  You may be able to claim the walk in bath as a medical expense on your personal income tax. Your doctor will need to indicate that you need a walk in bathtub. The Disability Tax Credit Form T2201E is available as a pdf document.
  
  •In January 2009, the Canadian government intoduced the Home Renovation Tax Credit on work performed or goods acquired in the process of home renovations. The purchase and installation of Safety Bath products can be used for the HRTC. More information on the Home Renovation Tax Credit is available here.
  
  •The Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) for Persons with Disabilities offers financial assistance to homeowners and landlords to undertake accessibility work to modify dwellings occupied or intended for occupancy by low-income persons with disabilities.
  
  •If you are a Veteran, Canadian Veterans Independence Services may be able to assist you with home adaptations to modify things like bathrooms, kitchens and doorways
  
  •Investigate your personal health insurance plan
  
  US RESOURCES
  
  •USDA-Rural Development Housing & Community Facilities Programs The Single-Family Housing Program provides homeownership opportunities to low and moderate-income rural Americans through several loan, grant, and guarantee programs. The program also makes funding available to individuals to finance vital improvements necessary to make their homes decent, safe, and sanitary.
  
  •US Department of Housing and Urban Development - Reverse mortgages for Seniors
  
  •The National Home Modification Action Coalition - Home Modification Resources
  
  •Coverage may be available through Medicare or Medicaid
  
  •Senior Health Care Advocates of America has great information regarding discounts for hydrotherapy bathtubs. Qualified applicants must be a senior or disabled person with age related health issues.
  
  
  •Deductibility of Certain Capital Expenditures to Personal Residence as Deductible Medical Expense
  
  •Investigate your personal health care insurance plan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Are You Doing Your Best to Keep Her Smiling?

Mary lives in a nursing home/long term care facility. Each day she is assisted to some degree in her daily activities by helpful and kind staff, and she is for the most part happy with her life in this new environment. She usually has a smile on her face. Twice a week Mary has a bath. Although she is ambulatory with the aid of her walker, she cannot step into a regular bathtub so the only option open to her is to be placed in a lift and raised into the air and then lowered into a special bathtub. These are the worst times of the week for Mary. While her bath should be relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable, Mary feels degraded and frightened by the lift. At those times, Mary’s smile is gone; so is her dignity.

Since 1992, Safety Bath Inc., a small Canadian company, has been progressively dedicated to making life better for people like Mary. In that year, owner and inventor, Ladimer Kowalchuk, began a search for a bathtub that would permit his father, a large man of over 300 lbs with very bad knees, to enjoy a safe bath. Finding no suitable products on the market, Ladimer invented a walk in bathtub that would make bathing safe, easy and dignified for his dad. In time, the bathtub made to help one man, was helping thousands across North America.

Bathing Independence for Everyone

Ladimer recognized that there were other groups of people who needed to remain independent…there were baby boomers who wanted to age in place; and what about those in long term care facilities who, like Mary, had some ambulatory ability and for the sake of convenience were being lifted into a bathtub….what about their dignity? Believing that there was need for such a bathtub in facilities where a more homelike, less threatening environment was the trend, the Safety Bath Supreme was designed to fill the gap between a regular household bathtub and an institutional lift tub.

The Bathtub for Long Term Care Facilities

Special features were incorporated into the Supreme to make it suitable for use in long term facilities where multiple users access the same bathtub, including the implementation of a hygienic San-Air Whirlpool system and a built in disinfection system. The Supreme walk in bathtub was designed with people like Mary in mind, but its benefits are evident for the caregiver and the facility as well.

For the Client

• Easy access for the client, promotes, rather than thwarts, independence
• Provides a safe, comfortable, friendly environment.
• Multiple jets provide therapeutic relief and promote relaxation
• Clients love the privacy provided by the height of the tub which obscures the caregiver's line of sight

For the Care-Giver

• Significantly lowers the risk of caregiver related injuries
• Clients as well as all operating components are within easy reach at all times
• Outward swing door makes emergency access possible
• Minimal or no lifting at all required if the client is ambulatory

For the Facility

• Reduced drain and fill time as opposed to institutional lift tubs, allowing more baths per day per unit.
• Requires very little space
• Environmentally friendly, uses 50% less water than a lift tub
• Economically viable - is less expensive than a lift tub and uses less sanitizing chemical in operation
• Ability to use an optional lift provides versatility and adaptability to changing needs

The Supreme is part of a very successful line of quality walk in bathtubs, designed by Safety Bath Inc. to make bathing a relaxing and pleasant experience for thousands who have mobility limitations.

Learn more about accessible bathtub products for long term care from Safety Bath Inc., by visiting http://www.safetybathsupreme.com or calling 877 826 6666

How to Keep your San Francisco Mother-In–Law in Her Own Home

My mother in law lives in San Francisco. As far as mothers-in-law go, she’s a grand old gal. She lives in her own home and has managed just fine up to this point in time. Last year after my father-in-law passed away, she insisted that she wanted to remain where she was… in the same home they had shared for 50 years, in the same comfortable neighborhood.

We frequently make the 45 minute drive to her home, where we visit, do a few minor things for her and often have a good meal. About a month ago, during our drive back home, my wife confided that she had some worries about her mother.

“I think Mom should come and live with us”, she said. “She admitted to me that she fell last week getting into the bathtub. She was lucky she only got a little bruised but can you imagine what would happen if she broke something, like her hip? I’m not sure we could afford to get her into the type of care facility she would need for maybe the rest of her life. If she lived with us, we wouldn’t have to worry about her.”

I understood my wife’s concerns, but jeepers, I was not too sure that I wanted to share my home with my mother-in-law. We were quite happy on our own and now that our kids were out of the house, we were enjoying our empty nest. I love my mother-in-law but living with her was going to be quite another issue!

It started me thinking about things I could do to keep her in her own home and that’s when I remembered something I had heard about a while back… those bathtubs with the doors. I knew it would cost us a bit, but compared to the alternative of having the old gal fall in the tub and dealing with long term care, it seemed the best way out of a tricky situation.

So now I know all there is to know about walk in bathtubs, my mother-in law has a walk in bathtub and is happy, my wife is happy, and gosh, darn, I’m happy too!um2ykwrsec

Walk in Bathtubs – Do You Understand the Concept?

We spend a lot of time at tradeshows and exhibits with our walk in bathtub line. One of the interesting facts we have gained from this experience is that many people do not understand the concept of a walk in bathtub.

We have come to the conclusion that unless you have had some experience with someone who needs a walk in bathtub, you just might not understand the concept at all…. so who are the people that need this type of bathtub?

As people age they find it increasingly difficult to lift their legs over the wall of a regular bathtub. Balancing on one foot to get in and out of the bathtub can be dangerous. In addition, it is difficult to sit on the floor to have a bath and difficult to get up from sitting on the floor. A slip or fall in the bathtub can cause serious injury and may lead to years of dependence on someone for assistance. It may necessitate a move from one’s home to a care facility.

The loss of independence is not only damaging to the person involved in terms of self confidence and quality of life, but it puts a strain on the health care system. A walk in bathtub can help retain the independence of an older person or someone who has difficulty with mobility.

The walk in bathtub makes bathing safe in 3 basic ways:
A very low step-in height to accommodate feet that do the “shuffle”
A door that opens and closes easily
A seat to permit the user to sit off the floor, as if on a chair


The bathtub cannot be surpassed for true personal hygiene; relaxation and the soothing of aching muscles and joints. If you have an aging parent, grandparent or loved one with a disability and you sense their struggle for independence and want them to be safe, you understand the walk in bathtub concept fully.

Solving a Dilemma for Retirement Community Builders

The Canoe Club (http://www.thecanoeclub.ca/), a new development which offers residents all-inclusive living at its finest in Winnipeg, Canada recently installed 100 So-Lo Safety Bath tubs with Heated Shower Decks allowing full access for both bathing and showering. The Canoe Club is one of the many projects of the Caleb Group (http://www.calebgroup.ca/about.htm ), which is dedicated to the development, construction and management of retirement communities.

The needs of seniors are diverse and change over time. Builders of retirement facilities are faced with the question of whether to install bathtubs or showers in their projects. The Safety Bath So-Lo with Heated Shower Deck solves this dilemma by providing an accessible combination bathtub/shower that accommodates “aging in place”, providing a solution to the changing bathing needs of a lifetime.

The Safety Bath So-Lo with Heated Shower Deck is a traditional style bathtub with an accessible door and low entry step, providing a full length bath. The Heated Shower Deck provides a warmed area where the user can sit while showering if desired. The Safety Bath So-Lo is available for right or left hand drains and warm air massage is offered as an option.