Clinic Will Help Residents Pick Wheelchair

Dr. Brianne Childs, Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja
An upcoming clinic in Kaunakakai will help residents who use a wheelchair to get around to figure out the best equipment to improve their mobility and quality of life. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t have to be the costliest wheelchair.
“It’s not necessarily the most expensive (wheelchair), it’s just finding what works right for that patient and their needs at that moment,” said Dr. Brianne Childs, the only professional with a doctorate in physical therapy serving Molokai.
On Aug. 27, the Wheelchair Seating Clinic hosted by Wellness in Motion and Cade Medical will do an in-depth assessment and fitting for patients who may need or already use a wheelchair.
“It’s something that hasn’t been offered here before, so I’m excited to bring it to the island and give patients some more options,” she said.
The clinic will look at several criteria such as the patients’ endurance, capacity to use arms and legs, ability to propel a wheelchair on their own, whether they have a ramp at home, what part of the island they live, or if they have a caregiver who may or may not be able to lift a heavy wheelchair.
“It takes about an hour to do that whole assessment with the patient, and we take measurements of their body shape and size, so that we’re getting a chair that fits them,” Childs said.
Usually, a wheelchair is something covered by health insurance, she said, but patients are often given a wheelchair that “does the job,” which could be the bare minimum, not optimal or too heavy for a caregiver to lift.
“They end up having a limitation in being able to go to places,” Childs said, adding the MEO bus is a “great service,” but it has limited hours.
There are also patients that are due for new equipment.
“I know there’s patients right now that have chairs duct-taped because they can’t get a new wheelchair. So, we want to get them the right equipment,” she said.
The clinic will be at Home Pumehana in Kaunakakai. Childs said the location is ideal because it is central, and a lot of people who need wheelchairs already live there, so it is handicap accessible.
“We’re going to be having people come in their wheelchairs, and then it’s kind of looking at what they have. Some patients who are going to be coming in don’t have a wheelchair, but they need one,” she said.
The clinic will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with each appointment lasting 45 minutes to one hour, “which is moving pretty fast” for this type of service, according to Childs.
Because of the time required for each assessment, she said, there are limited spots; the maximum capacity is 12 patients. Those not able to attend the clinic on Aug. 27, can contact Wellness in Motion to schedule an appointment for an evaluation and assessment for an optimal mobility device.
Childs worked at Molokai General Hospital for the last 17 years. Last month, she finished her job at the hospital to fully transition into Wellness in Motion, a mobile private clinic she opened a year-and-a-half ago. The clinic specializes in wound care and lymphedema treatments.
“That’s a service that we definitely need on the island,” she said. “Over the time I have been here, I have seen the demand grow.”
Childs said the Wheelchair Seating Clinic is an event she would like to offer once a year. There is no set cost for participating, she said. The overall cost for visits related to wheelchair assessment, fitting and training for wheelchair mobility is dependent on the patient’s insurance.
The Wheelchair Seating Clinic is Wednesday, Aug. 27 at Home Pumehana Community Hall, 290 Kolapa Place in Kaunakakai from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.wellnessinmotion.org to reserve a spot.
Contact Wellness in Motion at (808) 658-0762 or email info@wellnessinmotion.org for more information on the clinic or other physical therapy needs.