Wheelchair Seating and Mobility Clinic

The Wheelchair Seating and Mobility Clinic at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center conducts personalized assessments of each client’s needs, condition and abilities. Ohio State specialists can help fit each patient with the customized transportation aid best suited for that individual. The goal is to improve each person’s mobility, productivity, comfort and quality of life.

Our Patients

A properly fitted wheelchair, scooter, transfer equipment or transportation device can provide support, improve health and mobility, and promote independence. Ohio State can assist all people with disabilities improve their seating and mobility. Often, services are provided for people who have these conditions:

• Brain injury
• Stroke
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cerebral palsy (a group of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination)
• Spina bifida (a birth defect that can result in various, severe disabilities)
• Post-polio syndrome (physical disabilities following the initial polio incident)
• Pressure sores (damaged tissue caused by lack of blood flow due to pressure)

Our Team

Your care team evaluates you to create your wheelchair seating prescription. Then, we work with rehabilitation equipment suppliers to make sure your equipment meets your needs. This team may include:

• Board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician who leads the team to ensure you are given the best medical care
• Rehabilitative Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Certified Assistive Technology Professionals (ATP) who specialize in seating and positioning
• RESNA-Certified Rehabilitation Engineering Technologists (RET) who specialize in providing assistive technology support
• Occupational therapists who help improve ability to complete self-care and home management tasks
• Physical therapists who help achieve maximum strength, balance and mobility
• Rehabilitation engineers who specialize in designing assistive technologies
• Social workers who specialize in the social, emotional and financial needs of families and patients
• Certified rehabilitation equipment vendors

Treatment Plan

1. You will be seen by Dr. Daniel Kim, medical director of the mobility clinic, to identify areas where assistive technology can provide greater safety, functional independence, and/or comfort to you. During this encounter documentation that clearly outlines the medical necessity for assistive technology is created.
2. You will then be seen by a one of the following specially trained therapist for implementation, customization, and training in the use of the assistive technology solutions prescribed by Dr. Kim
3. We will plan to see you back at regular intervals to ensure that your assistive technology continues to meet your unique needs, as well as to ensure that it is replaced at appropriate intervals.

Our Services

This clinic offers rehabilitation services to help you at each stage of your rehabilitation and recovery — from services offered while you’re in the hospital (inpatient services) to those offered once you’ve returned home (outpatient services).

Depending on your needs and your referring physician's orders, this clinic can provide:

• Physical, occupational and speech therapy
• Access to assistive technology specialists with expertise in seating and positioning
• Pressure mapping assessment to determine which wheelchair or equipment provides the most appropriate pressure relief
• Propulsion analysis to examine each push on the handrim of a manual wheelchair
• Opportunities to experience a variety of equipment
• Wheelchair movement skills evaluation
• Wheelchair or seating recommendations for specialized wheelchairs (ultra-lightweight, bariatric, tilt-in-space), power wheelchairs and scooters
• Fitting adjustments and practice sessions when new equipment is delivered
• Patient education and training with our wheelchair skills mobility program

If you are currently using your own mobility equipment, we can help with:

• Positioning issues or a wheelchair that no longer supports you properly
• Modifications to allow pressure sores to heal or minimize risk of recurrence
• Changes in your ability to move or walk that may require equipment changes

Outpatient Rehabilitation

Specialty-Trained Staff

Our team is specialty trained in the selection and fitting of wheelchairs to improve mobility and function. We follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization on how best to provide wheelchairs to individuals. Our patients actively participate in the entire process from the initial assessment and goal setting, to the proper selection and training of mobility equipment. Other benefits this clinic offers include:

• We offer the only clinic in Ohio exclusively staffed with Certified Assistive Technology Professionals
• Our patients receive the most appropriate equipment available based on the recommendations of our team and accredited wheelchair suppliers
• Our team of specialists helps patients through the entire wheelchair and seating process. This includes determining the best equipment available, providing proper equipment fitting and adjustments, along with training patients on how to use the equipment
• Patients benefit from our innovation and expertise in wheelchair positioning and seating. Our physicians and therapists are continuously researching new mobility solutions, and presenting their findings at national and international seminars

To participate in the program

Please have your physician fax the following referral information to 614-293-1456, attention Seating Clinic:

• Referral for occupational or physical therapy listing diagnosis
• Most recent office notes, including any medication lists

Treatment Team

• Rehabilitative Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Certified Assistive Technology Professionals (ATP) who specialize in seating and positioning
• RESNA-Certified Rehabilitation Engineering Technologists (RET) who specialize in providing assistive technology support
• Occupational therapists who help improve ability to complete self-care and home management tasks
• Physical therapists who help achieve maximum strength, balance and mobility
• Rehabilitation engineers who specialize in designing assistive technologies
• Social workers who specialize in the social, emotional and financial needs of families and patients
• Certified rehabilitation equipment vendors

Why choose The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center?

Ohio State’s Wheelchair Seating and Positioning Clinic helps you select and obtain seating that is comfortable, contributes to your health and meets your lifestyle and mobility goals. Here’s why people choose Ohio State for seating and positioning help:

Personalized Care: You will receive a personal evaluation that helps create an individualized care plan to meet your needs and lead you toward your health goals. We will help you learn the skills and techniques you need to improve your abilities at work, home and social settings.

Accredited Programs: We are proud that our Inpatient Rehabilitation Programs at Dodd Hall and our Outpatient Medical Rehabilitation Programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). CARF recognizes our programs as meeting the highest standards in quality, safety and outcome measures, which provide risk-reduction and accountability in our patient care.

Nation’s Best: Ohio State’s rehabilitation program consistently ranks among the best in the nation. As an academic medical center, Ohio State offers comprehensive medical expertise, the most advanced technologies and treatment techniques, and innovative care backed by research knowledge.