Functions over Form
Glen Mayer makes life easier for people with mobility challenges.
Carpenter Glen Mayer has little more than layman’s knowledge of anatomy and physiology. But that hasn’t deterred the inventive entrepreneur from growing a business that caters directly to people living with illness and disabilities.
The owner of Personal Aide Woodcrafts who shares time between homes in Lumby and Richmond, takes a practical approach to his craft – inventing products that make life a little easier for individuals with mobility issues.
His interest in accessories for independent living sparked a couple of years ago when his mother, who has osteoarthritis, complained that she couldn’t carry objects such as plates and cups from the kitchen counter to a table. Mayer designed a narrow task cart for her that runs on four turning wheels, has a swing-out tray and two shelves for placing items on. The product enables her to roll the cart to where she liked, sit down and the swing the tray in front of her, a substitute for a table.
“It wasn’t intended as a commercial venture,” says Mayer, who was semi-retired from carpentry at the time and was putting his efforts towards marketing his own wood displays for car stereos.
“I had all the equipment in my shop for doing this kind of thing. It sort of started with family members.”
After designing the cart, Mayer moved on to a chair riser that helps individuals who have trouble getting in and out of their seats. It’s a piece of equipment that could be used in place of a power lift chair. His riser costs $200 compared to a power chair, which retails for around $1500.
Mayer’s items aren’t in direct competition with larger manufactures of independent living products because each of his pieces have been designed with extras that set them apart. For example, his adjustable hip chair has been designed with higher arms, making it easier for someone to propel themselves up and out of the seat.
Other pieces include an independent platform rocker, which he designed for wheelchair users to rock back and forth, rather than being transferred to a separate chair. An amputee board that aids amputees in supporting and positioning their residual limbs without interfering with transfers is another of his innovative products. Each board is designed to fit in a commercial narrow wheelchair or standard adult one.
“It’s not copying,” says Mayer. “It’s taking an industry standard and improving upon it…. We’ve tried to take out the institutionalized look, give that a more homey appeal and make them user-friendly.”
In Kamloops, Mayer’s daughter Debra Kropp, operator of Comfort Zone, a home support and respite care company, uses the equipment in a practical setting that has benefited her clients. The home-based business uses the transfer boards, lift blocks, a hip chair and rocker platform as well as an adjustable tilting bed frame to aid clients. The setting has allowed Mayer feedback in improving items.
His personal approach has worked, at least in the minds of professionals who have purchased his goods. Barbara Purdy, a Vancouver-based physio and occupational therapist, says Mayer looks at what’s missing in the system and develops his products from there.
“He makes his living coming for the heart. His equipment has extras that are a little bit different than everyone else.”
In the past two years, his company has grown to serve clients such as GF Strong rehabilitation centre, Sunnyhill Children’s Hospital, Vancouver General and other health-care facilities in the Lower Mainland and throughout B.C. He sells to medical supply stores as well as the B.C., Alberta, Yukon, and Saskatchewan governments, among many others. Mayer’s company also distributes to the U.S., where his rocking chair platform is mass produced in Chicago and New York.
He has a U.S. patent on his task cart and is in the process of developing a portable hairwashing/bedpan cart that has a patent pending. The hairwashing unit can be used independently without hooking up to a permanent water source, by using regular eight-litre jugs to hold warm water. It’s designed to aid those who are bed-ridden and unable to move.
His prototype includes a fibreglass basins that is made from the hood of a Western Star truck, specifically fabricated so the neck won’t hyper-extend during washing. Sitting on a bed, the basin is almost as comfortable as a supportive pillow, says Mayer.
The portable cart has an independent water pump run from a 12-volt battery. Water is sucked from the jug through a hose and is sprayed onto a person’s hair, while waste water is caught in the basin. Another hose, connected to the basin, drains the water into a second eight-litre jug.
A specifically-designed bed pan, that also fits into the task cart, works using the same process. Mayer says his system supports individuals who find it painful to move when using a bedpan. They can be rolled onto a larger than standard pan and benefit from an antibacterial wash afterward. Waste water is captures in the same way as the hair-washing unit.
“It’s a portable bedpan and washing unit in one. It’s made from so it doesn’t get cold like metal.”
His prototype will be tested in a health care setting before he begins marketing it to the general public. Other short-term goals include convincing smaller health-care centres throughout B.C. to carry his products.
The Daily News, October 30, 2000 by Jennifer Muir