Occupational Therapist Referral Portal for Calgary Equipment Rentals

What the referral form asks for

The form collects what delivery and safe setup need, and nothing more. Required fields are the minimum for us to act; the rest save a phone call.

• About you: name, role, organization, phone (required, so we can confirm with you first) and work email.
• Client and delivery: client name, a client or family phone number, delivery address, community and the date needed.
• Weight range: under 300, 300 to 450, 450 to 600, or over 600 lb. It decides which beds, lifts and chairs are safe to send.
• Funding route, from private pay and workplace plans to WCB, AADL or Veterans Affairs Canada, or not yet known.
• Equipment recommended, ticked from our full range, plus setup and positioning notes.
• A consent box confirming the client or their representative agreed to share these details with us.

Specifying beds and support surfaces

Name the frame type, the capacity and the surface on top. Some beds are rated by total load (occupant, mattress, rails and accessories) with a lower maximum patient weight; compare your client against the patient figure.

For a surface, say alternating pressure alone or with low air loss, and whether it replaces the mattress or sits on it. Cycle times run roughly 8 to 25 minutes depending on model; if you need a particular setting, write it in the notes.

• Standard full-electric: Invacare 5410IVC, 350 lb patient and 450 lb total, 80 x 36 inch sleep surface, adjustable from 15 to 23 inches, with a hand crank for power failure. Drive Delta Ultra-Light 1000 (15033), 450 lb maximum including the occupant, with a 9-volt battery in the pendant that can lower head and foot sections nine times without power.
• Bariatric: Drive Full-Electric Bariatric Bed, 42 inch (15300), 600 lb total and 500 lb patient, bed height 18.25 to 26.25 inches. Invacare BAR750, 750 lb total including mattress and accessories and up to 675 lb patient, with width expanding from 39 to 48 inches and deck height 15 to 29 inches.
• Low beds: decks that lower to about 9 to 10 inches from the floor. Phone us to confirm the model, capacity and whether floor mats are part of the order.
• Drive Med-Aire Plus (14029): alternating pressure with low air loss, cycle selectable at 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes, 20 air cells 8 inches deep, CPR valve for rapid deflation, rated 450 lb.
• Rails: say full rails, half rails or no rails, and which side the client gets out of bed.

Specifying lifts and slings

Name the lift type, the sling style and size, and the transfers it must reach: bed, chair, commode or floor. Tell us if the base legs have to clear a dresser or bed frame.

Sling compatibility is set by the lift maker. Invacare states that only Invacare slings and accessories should be used on its lifts. If the client already owns a sling, give us its brand, style and size, and we will tell you on the confirmation call whether it suits the lift we are sending.

• Invacare Reliant 450 (RPL450-1): 450 lb, lift range 24 to 74 inches at sling hook-up, 4.5 inch base clearance, manual base legs opening from 26.5 to 41 inches, padded swivel bar with six-point hook-up.
• Drive Battery-Powered Patient Lift (13240): 450 lb, boom height 27.5 to 76 inches, 2 inch base clearance, overall width 25 inches closed and 41.5 inches open, 4/6-point cradle. It will not operate while plugged in to charge, which caregivers need to hear at setup.
• Sit-to-stand: for clients who can bear some weight and take part in the transfer. Tell us the sling type (standing or transfer) and the client’s weight, and we confirm the model and its rating when we call.

Sizing a lift chair

Give us seat width and seat-to-floor height, and seat depth if the client is short or tall in the thigh. A chair that is too high leaves feet unsupported; too low and the lift does more of the work than you intended. The Pride VivaLift! Radiance (PLR-3955) comes in four sizes, all rated 400 lb, and Pride describes the backrest and footrest as moving independently.

• PLR-3955S (Small): 20 inch seat width, 18 inch depth, 18 inch seat-to-floor.
• PLR-3955PW (Petite-Wide): 24 inch seat width, 18 inch depth, 19.5 inch seat-to-floor.
• PLR-3955M (Medium): 22.5 inch seat width, 21 inch depth, 19.5 inch seat-to-floor.
• PLR-3955LT (Large/Tall): 23.5 inch seat width, 22 inch depth, 21.5 inch seat-to-floor, and it needs 21.5 inches of wall clearance behind it.
• Golden Comforter with MaxiComfort (PR-535): 400 lb in Petite/Small, Medium, Large and Tall; the Medium/Wide is rated 500 lb with a 27 inch seat, and the Large/Wide 600 lb with a 29 inch seat. Floor to top of seat runs 20 to 23 inches depending on size.

Bridging while AADL equipment is authorized and supplied

Alberta Aids to Daily Living funds basic equipment for Albertans with a long-term disability, a chronic illness lasting six months or more, or a palliative diagnosis. Registered nurses, OTs and PTs can authorize hospital beds (palliative and full-time use only) and lifts and slings, and AADL supplies beds and lifters from its recycle inventory first.

AADL does not reimburse rentals for temporary or short-term needs, excludes pre- and post-operative use, and asks authorizers to tell clients so. The client or family pays for a bridging rental, or claims it through other benefits.

Our rentals are privately paid. We can put a bed or lift in the home now, set up to your notes, and collect it when the funded equipment arrives. Choose AADL as the funding route on the form.

Privacy and client consent

Send the minimum we need to deliver and set up safely: name, contact, address, weight range, equipment and positioning notes. We don’t need diagnoses, medication lists or clinical history, and the form asks you to leave them out.

The client or their representative must agree to you sharing their details with us; the form will not send without that box ticked. As a private Alberta business, we handle personal information under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), using it to arrange, deliver, service, bill and collect the rental. Our privacy policy has the detail. Where your organization has its own rules on sharing client information with suppliers, those come first.

What we don’t do

We don’t assess clients, recommend equipment on clinical grounds or decide whether a transfer is safe. If a caregiver asks at setup whether the client should use a sit-to-stand or a full-body lift, we refer them back to you.

At setup we cover the equipment itself: assembly, positioning to your notes, a function check, and showing caregivers the controls, charging and power-failure lowering. If we see a problem, such as a bedroom door narrower than the lift base, we tell you rather than change the order ourselves.