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“Why would you spend so much money on a stair that doesn’t do the job?” asked Louis Goudreau, an engineer at The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre (TOHRC).

He was speaking about an adjustable physiotherapy staircase that’s now commercially available, but costs about $15,000 and doesn’t have all the features needed to safely help with patient rehab.

TOHRC Engineer Louis Goudreau (left) designed and built an adjustable staircase that physiotherapists such as David Follows can use to help rehabilitate patients.

Instead, Goudreau designed and built a set of stairs that is adjustable (from 3-inch to 10-inch steps); can hold the weight of several people (so physiotherapists can climb on and help patients if necessary); is durable, efficient and sturdy; and is built in the Rehab Engineering workshop for about a third of the price of the commercial staircase. Now, patients can slowly build their strength until they can manage regular 7.5-inch steps or higher.

“One of the main barriers to discharging patients is the fact that they can’t get in and out of their home or they can’t get to the second floor where the bedroom and bathroom are,” said David Follows, a physiotherapist at TOHRC. “These stairs allow us to begin training our patients at a 3-inch step and as they get stronger we gradually increase the step height until they’re able to do a normal 7.5-inch step.”

“The majority of inpatients and a significant number of outpatients use the staircase,” said Follows. “Both the patients and the therapists love it.”

TOHRC celebrated the staircase’s first year at TOH at the end of March, and the American and Canadian patents are currently pending.

Patents are pending for the TOHRC adjustable staircase that can go from 3-inch to 10-inch steps, allowing patients to slowly build their strength and abilities.

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