You Change Lives: Empowering Staff To Empower Patients

Donors Fund Specialized Lift Equipment to Help Patients Walk Again

For most of us, walking is a blessing which is taken for granted.

Yet, for many patients, the ability to walk is often a goal following hard-fought recovery work.

Donors like you have made the difference for patients struggling to regain their independence. Through your gifts, specialized equipment has been made available across the McLeod Health system, helping neurology and limited mobility patients regain critical movement.  

For Jean Flohr, McLeod Mobility Coordinator, your generosity inspired her to write grants for additional equipment. She wanted to ensure safety for both patients and staff as they work to meet their goals of regaining independence and mobility.

Jean recalls her work years ago with an elderly patient. This beautiful lady had not walked in two years. She had been aging in-place at home and without assistance, she lost her strength. She was admitted to the hospital with numerous health issues.  Jean was able to use a piece of lift equipment funded by McLeod Health Foundation donors to help her stand and then slowly begin walking. She was overjoyed to return home and be able to move about with a walker. 

“When our patients realize we are here to help them reach their goals to regain mobility they change emotionally and mentally. I was inspired by this determined patient’s desire to walk and knew we could change lives,” explains Jean.

This experience led Jean to reach out to the McLeod Foundation to help her establish specialized training and updated equipment for direct patient care staff on all McLeod campuses.

Mobility issues are an ever-increasing problem as patients struggle with obesity, orthopedic surgery, strokes, injuries, or general loss of strength due to age or inactivity. Thanks to your generosity, staff are thoroughly trained in working with their patients using equipment which protects them from injuries when lifting and moving patients.

“Foundation donors provided the resources which empowered our staff to empower our patients in reaching their goals,” shares Jean. “Thank you is just not enough.”