And since we are on the subject of “new”, let’s take the time to mention the new ACTIVEAID model 1124 and 1105. Now we did touch on the 1124 model a few months ago.  The webpage has been up for a few months now and has a video that is very informative; you may have viewed this already.  However the 1105 is not shown, and there are no specifications or measurements for you to view.  We will be adding those different measurements shortly, with a picture of the 1105 as well.  One note to keep in mind is that the 1105 is height adjustable only, no seat slope adjustment on this model.  And since these models can come with so many different adjustments, the specifications that will be posted will just include the basics.  Remember, as always, we can be contacted toll free Monday thru Friday, 8 – 4:30 central standard time.  Also we have a new employee in the customer service department.  His name is Jack Nelson and some dealers might have already had the opportunity to talk with him, so if you call in, welcome him to the team.

I want to take the time to give an explanation of how our JTG flip back style arm works.  This particular style arm first originated on the 600 JTG series, approximately 16 years ago, and is actually incorporated in several other models we manufacture.  For instance, models 285, 805, 824, 1024, and through customization of the frame, the JTG flip back style arm can be added to the 480 model as well.  And if you read our September 6^th blog,” Call us the Medical Equipment Specialists” you know that customizing to ones particular needs, is what we do.  And I think this is as good a time as any to mention a new model coming out soon that also will have the JTG flip back style arm. But we can save that for a later blog.

With that said, I will also have some pictures to show the arm and its function.  Pictures always help and never hurt in my opinion.  Besides the actual arm itself, there are some other components, such as the armrest pivots, that are crucial to its function.  The armrest pivots are made right here in house.  These pieces are machined out of aluminum and mount to the back tubes of each model that uses this style arm.  Along with the armrest pivot, there is an armrest support.  The armrest supports are molded plastic that are mounted to the front part of the frame (right and left), are cradle shaped, catch the front part of the arm, and provide significant front-end support.  Again, the pictures will hopefully help in this explanation.  Now, incorporated in this armrest support is metal armlock.  This part locks the arm in the armrest support, helping clients to perform weight shifts. Lost or confused yet?  Hope not, this is a great time to view the pictures to clear up any confusion.  Obviously we feel this design to be simple, but yet very functional, and again is why it is incorporated in several different models.

Questions? Remember we are here to answer them, Monday thru Friday 8 to 4:30 CST.

Received an email the other day about an annual event that we sponsor.  Thought we would share it with you. Enjoy.

TIRR Memorial Hermann will be sponsoring the 34^th Annual Model Systems Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy Leadership Forum 2011 Wednesday, October 19 through Saturday, October 22, 2011 at the Hotel ZaZa, 5701 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005 and on the TIRR campus, 1333 Moursund Avenue, Houston, TX 77030.

The Model Systems Leadership Forum draws PT and OT leaders from multiple prestigious rehabilitation centers throughout the United States and Canada. These centers currently hold, or have held, designation of “Model Systems of Spinal Cord Injury Care”. Well known centers include The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), The Shepherd Center of Atlanta, Craig Hospital of Denver, Kessler Rehabilitation Center of New Jersey, and Houston’s, TIRR Memorial Hermann.

Goals of the forum include:

• To maintain an ongoing platform for exchange of administrative and educational information between facility leadership, and PT and OT who are affiliated with the specialized care of individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI).
• To identify, review, and update present research efforts and provide a forum for research collaboration.
• To discuss advances in clinical practice, durable medical equipment, and supplies for optimal care of the SCI client.

Annually, the forum is generously supported by companies like us, used by The Model Systems Centers.

Thanks for reading!

-Jon

We create standard chairs that already have adjustability, comfort, easy access, and durability along with a laundry list of other excellent qualities.  Out of the assortment of chairs we already produce, by working with a sales rep or customer service employee, we can match you with a chair that best suits your needs.  In the end getting you what you want and need is the main goal, right?  However, if you find yourself in a special situation and you may desire something that requires a little creative thinking, we can do just that.  We are proud to say that we have been creating specialized chairs with the highest quality longer than anyone else in our market.

Customization was one of the “ideas” that ACTIVEAID, Inc. strives to be the best at and we have been doing it since the late 70’s.  That’s over 30 years worth of customization.  That’s longer than some of the competition has been in business.  I think, because of our experience, we have earned the name of “Medical Equipment Specialists” over the years.  We have done many “different” customizations from width, depth, and height adjustments to special seat and back configurations… there are too many customizations to count or describe with just one article.  If you have a question about if we can tailor a chair to your special needs (which we more than likely can) give us a call toll free! 1-800-533-5330

Our head engineer Jeff Gunderson has been working with individuals creating unique chairs to meet the special needs of customers for 23 years now.  Jeff, and his years of experience, will create a chair best fit for your needs and wants that is one of a kind for YOU!  It may be a small tweak or a completely custom chair, but it will always be best suited to your needs.  Plus, the custom chair will still have the adjustable features our standard chairs have for your own on-the-go customizations, if you so desire.

If you think you have a situation that is too “different” or out of the norm for us, just try us.  I bet you will be surprised, because over the 30 years of customization we have run into many, many different situations and yours may be right up our alley.  Maybe we will be the surprised ones seeing something new that we have never done before.  With that said, we always like a challenge.  We are here to make you a made -to-order chair that you feel safe and secure in that can be depended on for years to come and we will do everything we can to surpass your expectations.   We make shower and commode chairs that you can call your own.

Have a nice day and thank you for reading!

– Jon

Happy Monday everyone, hope your weekend was splendid.  Welcome to the ACTIVEAID Blog and if this isn’t your first time reading, welcome back!  First of all, if you have any questions “about the blog” or you just want to send an email to the blogging team. (Email customersupport@activeaid.com)  PLEASE do, we would love to hear your feedback.  If it’s easier, simply leave a comment after reading the blog at the bottom of the page and we will get back to you.  We are new to this whole blogging thing and want to make it the best experience for you by writing about news and events you may want to hear about!  Posts could be news about an employee, new ideas, changes to ACTIVEAID, Inc., trade shows, stories about individuals that use our products, or anything else under the sun that is worth sharing. Please let us know what’s interesting to you and how we can make this blog a success!

This post is going to be a conglomerate of a few different topics packed together; wicked weather, employee appreciation week, and contact/feedback info. (Covered one already above… check)  It’s a lot to pack into one post, but I think we can manage it in a few minutes.

Earlier in July we had some severe weather blow through, I’m talking 70, 80, 90+ MPH winds.  It was “tornado-esk” if you will.  It was some of the worst weather I have ever seen in this area.  There were evergreen trees that were 3-4 feet around the base that simply snapped in half and too many trees to count that were uprooted and fell on anything in its path that caused some havoc to businesses and homes in the area.  Just getting around town was a puzzle.  Trees blocked off roads (pictured top right) turning Redwood Falls into a wonderful maze; you would drive for a while only to take a U turn after a couple blocks and try another route.   I had this feeling of a mouse in a cage trying to find a piece of cheese (cheese = my destination) for a couple of days. 

Luckily here at ACTIVEAID, Inc. we only had three old, old trees 4-6 feet around the base (One uprooted tree pictured right) that we lost at our main building and a bit of roof damage at our metal finishing plant.  So, the roof at powder coating was leaky there for a while and our property needed a once over to clean up the big trees and debris.  The sounds of chainsaws were the tune humming for the next couple weeks after the storm, wherever you were there was somebody carving away at a piece of wood in the area, guaranteed.  Hidden moral of the story, not even wicked weather can slow ACTIVEAID down in production of our quality shower and commode chairs.  We do our best to get orders out and to the customer on time, no matter what, and we always will.

Last week starting Monday August  8^th, ACTIVEAID, Inc. holds a week every year to show appreciation to the hard working employees.  Thursday was the big day where employees are given a half day off and BBQ lunch is on the house.  Our President Mark Oja and Vice President Charles Nearing throw on an apron, get some charcoal going, and grill up a wonder“FULL” assortment of food for the employees.  If you go hungry here, obviously you didn’t grab enough the first time through, and should repeat until desired capacity is reached.  While employees are enjoying their meal, employee’s names are drawn for their pick from an assortment of prizes ranging from tickets to Twins or Vikings games, Vikings tumblers, shirts, jackets, coolers, etc. all the way to “Redwood Bucks” that can be used anywhere in the Redwood Area.  The key to this is to get picked first or early.

After the food is done there is an employee golf tournament that is held at the Redwood Falls Golf Club for those who would like to enjoy their  half day off with a little golf.  It is a scramble format where everyone tees off and takes the best shot and then everybody hits again from that location.  This year it was a tight battle between two teams and after the 9-hole match one team prevailed with a score of 5 under par, second place was only one stroke behind with 4 under par.  I don’t want to brag but the author of this blog was on the team that won, so the FORE or I mean FOUR members get to carry around a “mental” trophy and have bragging rights until the next year. (How sweet it is!)  After the tournament is complete there is, of course, a little chit chat going back and forth between teams and a couple one liners to rub it in just a little.  However, after everything is said and done, the main objective of this day was to have some laughs and good times to bring our group of employees closer together.

HELLO! From ACTIVEAID.

Until next time, please stay out of gale force winds when playing golf… Oh and thanks for reading!

-Jon

ACTIVEAID, Inc. has been breaking new ground since we first started in 1965 and still today we are proud to say we are one of the first companies in our particular field that will be breaking into the social media and blogging world!  Okay, so it’s not super ground breaking but, hey, we think it’s a big step. We believe it’s a crucial part of our business to become closer to our customers and business contacts, so buckle up and get ready because we are about to become new best friends!  Let us know who you are (we really want to know) and we will share more about us.

First question of the blogging experience, (see we are still breaking new ground) what do you want us to write about? What would be most beneficial to you? What can we do for you?  You get the picture.  We are going to put together our brainpower here and have a post ready for you to read every other Monday. However, if we do get a fantastic response from readers and they want something every week, we will order take out and stay up all night to get a post done every week.  Let’s just stick to once every two weeks for now.

Back to the “Breaking New Ground” theme, the founder and first “groundbreaker” of ACTIVEAID, Inc. was Carl Oja.  You could say he had a couple good ideas that got things off the ground and look at us now!  He once said “The recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten.” Take a second to really think about an item you purchased a long time ago that did its job and lasted.  Tough task, I know, but it could be anything (Shoes, Camera, Airplane).  If you can’t remember the price I bet you can still remember the quality of the product whether good or bad, because quality is something that can stick easier than any number can.

Lets get this blogging thing off on the right foot or wheel, and try to have a little fun while informing you, our friends, customers and business associates, who help ACTIVEAID, Inc. stick around.  This way we can help you and many other people in the best way possible for generations to come.

Thanks, friend.