Safety Chair

We had furniture of this same make and style in my dorm at the University of New Mexico in the early 1990s, but they were obviously very old at that time. We used to call them "Gumby chairs" and "Gumby couches."

Ironic. They provide "safety chairs" to prevent patients from injuring themselves, yet they create a playroom in a cement-encased basement. Makes perfect sense.

Randar, there is actually a reason for this. People with motor impairments walk more easily on hard, even surfaces. As soon as they start to walk on softer surfaces, such as mats, rugs, grass, dirt, etc., there isn't as much perfectly flat surface for their feet and their systems can't accommodate or make up for the lack of evenness and they are more likely to fall. It is difficult for people who walk well and naturally to understand exactly how much balancing and counterbalancing we do just walking across the room. The unimpaired human body has a system that knows how to adjust constantly and unconsciously to tiny variations in most surfaces and make walking across these surfaces look smooth and effortless. This is not the case for people with motor impairments, where even the slightest change in surface forces the person to either stop and try to adjust to the surface change or to lose balance. I know I am not saying that very elegantly, but that's the basic gist of the thing. So if you have motor impairments and walk on grass, rugs, mats, etc., you are much more likely to fall.

The people with the greatest risk of falling usually wear helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads to prevent serious injury when they fall, so the cement surface isn't as big an issue there, but falling and hitting hard furniture on the way down is always a problem, so softer furniture, both to sit on and to bump against, makes sense.

We have tried setting up mats beside the beds of people who are more likely to fall when they get out of bed at night, but it makes it much more difficult for them to find their balance when they step on one, especially if they have just woken and are groggy. Today's solution is generally a silent bed alarm for people who get up at night (to alert staff to come assist them to walk), good shoes (for daytime), soft or padded furniture, helmets and knee or elbow pads, and gait belts for staff to assist people when they walk. It's better than putting them in a wheelchair prematurely, which would also keep them safe but is a bad idea for multiple reasons. Of course, people ARE safer if they are forced to stay in wheelchairs to avoid being injured, but then . . . :-)

As far as rugs, rugs actually are more difficult to walk on because there is generally a soft pad underneath, so the surface isn't flat. If you use a rug you end up increasing falls so people can have a nicer surface to land on, but that doesn't really make sense when you look at it that way. It is also more difficult for people to move their wheelchairs across floors with rugs, and you don't want to decrease the mobility and independence of people who use wheelchairs.

Area rugs are an idea, but they are an incredibly high source of injuries because people have a hard time adjusting to the change in surface from hard floor to soft rug and back. And finally you have the entire matter of sanitation, as many of the people who live in these settings have issues with incontinence.

Hey, ~Me - does that qualify as a rant? ;-)

Yes Lynne it does. A good one at that.

So, ~Me, I assume you meant the very last definition? ;-)

RANT v. intr.
To speak or write in a angry or violent manner; rave. v. tr.
To utter or express with violence or extravagance. n.

1. Violent or extravagant speech or writing.
2. A speech or piece of writing that incites anger or violence.
3. Chiefly British. Wild or uproarious merriment.

That would be an exelent cover for a CD

Lynne, I like your posts. They are very informative and give a good background to these PICs.

While reasearching Pennhurst and Fernald, I saw a few photos of chairs like that. A few to many of them actually had seatbelts on them in order to restrain the students, they even had a padded chair shaped like a cylander with a hole in it where they shoved the children into so they couldnt move.

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[THUMP]
[THUMP]
[THUMP]

*~Sighs~* We're going to have to have a fund to replaster the wall right by Lynne's workstation.

Just stuff me in one of those little chairs so I can't move, will ya?

**Buys Lynne a special "forehead protector"....more haldol...never enough cumezekyames......**

I love this photo...it is bitterly ironic...'safety' chairs...and all around are signs of destruction and pain... saftey for what?...definately not the spirit or emotions of these poor children.

Yep, there is some bitter irony at work here, that's for sure.

Where's my helmet again?

Here...here take it!

[running like none other so that we can preserve Lynne's ever-so useful and ever-so thumped around brain cells]

Nothing about this chair is safe anymore.

ok this confuses me ... solitary confinement is a hard brick room where they could beat their heads against walls and they have cement play rooms... yet they have a soft chair in case they get hurt ??? it would hurt my mind to much to even try to make sence of this stuff

any comment's or ideas email to justicedreams24@aol.com

"it would hurt my mind to much to even try to make sence of this stuff "

Damn - I was just going to say that! Is this deja vu? Or did I already ask that?

Honestly...dont give her the helmet...if she wants to bang her head let her. Why would you even keep reposting comments and rants like this when only a handful of people listen and you get upset at those who are just voicing their opinions and what they see? You are clearly a hipocrite...you think that you are always right because you work in a hospital nowadays..but not back then..and that you must let everyone know about how smart you are. I think you are childish because people voice what they see in these pictures...and then you yell at them and tell them your opinion. (which you obviously feel is full of facts and completely true) Maybe you should just let people think what they want to think, and ignore their comments huh?

I wonder...Is this how you treat your patients?

That type of furniture has another safety advantage. It's heavy as hell, and unlikely to become a ballistic missle weapon during a snit.

This is one of the most beautiful photos I've ever seen: the design, the colors, the contrast of smooth and peeling paint, the contrast of the barren top of the photo and the various details of the bottom. I love it. As to the chair- at Belchertown State School's K Building, we had chairs that looked like that. They were made of tough plastic and they were reversible. If you turned the chair upsidedown you could still sit on it. It was really two chairs in one. They came in several colors (gray, red, brown) and lined most of the walls of the dayhall.

Just a quick note - hypocrite is spelled with a "y" and not an "i". I find it best when calling someone a name to try to make sure it's spelled correctly or it sort of loses its zing. :-(

To answer your question, yes, the way I work with my clients is by giving them correct information, not letting them be confused by receiving incorrect or garbled information, and making sure that they are physically safe. Some people think that dealing in facts, telling the truth, and keeping people safe is a good thing, but, as they say, there's no accounting for taste.

As far as the part above about the rugs and the chair, that's not opinion, it's actually data-based factual information. I currently work as a risk management liaison and my job is to make sure folks are as safe as they can be without having any freedoms restricted unnecessarily (i.e., for any but reasons of safety). We have to do a lot of reading on furniture, lighting, rugs, etc., and keep up with the current research and best practices on safety, so I would have to say that this part is true and you could probably even take it to the bank.

As far as my personal opinion of spider girl, yes, I did get a tad testy with the child. She did have a lot of unique things to say, so my bad for sounding like I didn't support her and her fascinating comments wholeheartedly. That probably does indeed make me a hypocrite. As I am sure you have figured now, I've been called a lot worse. :-)

Hmm... Speaking of Zing...

Lynne, your posts are fantastic, they are so informative. The websites you post are also great. I think it is more important to learn from someone like you and really enjoy reading your posts. Thankyou!!!

I wanna see some real ghosts

I second Aimee. Lynne, I never imagined that I would learn so much about human caring from this wonderful photographic site. Although your posts are long on occasion, I look forward to grabbing up my coffee cup, taking a sip, and thinking, "Let's see what Lynne has to say on the matter." Brava!

I worked at Pennhurst Center - I sat in a chair like that - I worked on the violent ward and there was a need for that type of chair to prevent injury to other clients. I also worked on a ward with profoundly handicapped people and believe me there was a need for soft furniture that would not tip over.

Lynne is sorta correct but she doesn't seem to acknowledge that DMH and DSS can badly fuck up peoples lives. i have not met anyone living on the outside who was nearly as insane as someone put into certain foster homes at a young age. it almost happened to me. An abusive overweight father taking pills for his extreme anger problems and a sexually abusive mother (also very obese). had i stayed in such a setting i would've acted out, been locked up, administered mind altering medication, and ended up an institutionalized shell of a person unable to cope with the outside world.

Maybe you need to read a few more comments before deciding what other people think or don't think. :-)

Love the colors and composition in this one.

I work in this field and reading Lynn's rants is teaching me thanks Lynn

i remeber goin to this exact room and fellin real sad for the poor children that were asulted here

this is an amazing picture

To Rusty et. al.- SEATBELTS (and why we are required to utilize them when driving) are for everyone's SAFETY. Thank you.

HOLY FUCK. I went to rockford inpatient program just recently in maryland. The same damn chairs. exactly.

God, I miss Lynne. =8'-(

ok I love this pic... i think its butiful...

But, Dannie Girl I think ur the Hipocrite because if u want everyone to voice their own op. then leave Lynne alone!

I wonder if it's still easy to clean? LOL 'Cause I think it looks like a pretty nifty chair.