A state of the art safety device is now being sold in the United States, but you can only get it from one retailer. Omaha's own Kohll's Pharmacy is the only distributor in the entire United States to sell the Raizer lifting chair.
The device helps family members, caretakers and loved ones get a person who has fallen, up off the floor. Everyday thousands of elderly and physically challenged people fall and aren't able to get back up without assistance.
Many times caretakers or elderly spouses aren't able to get the fallen person up either, so fire departments and EMTs have to come help get the person off the floor.
The Raizer can be used with only the assistance of one other person and its easy set up allows everyone, old and young, to use it.
Chris Tedrow with Kohll's says not only can non-emergency calls take first responders away from other emergencies, but in some cases it can end up costing you money to have them come out. "It varies from community to community, but on average it's about $500, is what the fire departments are charging."
The Raizer has been available at Kohll's for about three months, and costs about $3,500.
Tedrow says one Omaha couple was calling the fire department so often, they were going to have to start charging and a few calls to 911 would cost the same amount as the chair. "He has MS, his wife can't get him up off the floor. About once a week, they were calling the fire department out and so they got one of these, and now they're good to go."
You can see a live demonstration at the Kohll's showroom near 127th and Q, on there website here, or in the video below.