One of the leading reasons why seniors are transferred to a care home happens in the bathroom, where bathers who enter or exit their bathtub are susceptible to slips and falls. To enable seniors to continue living at home independently, Safety Bath has a line of tubs that are built around safety.
Safety Bath started in the small town of Ituna, Sask. in the early 90s. Following its successful beginning, the company was sold and moved to Lethbridge, Alta. in the early 2000s. Ever since, the idea took off and today the tubs are sold to senior care homes and individual houses across the continent.
“(The founder) wanted an easier bathtub for his dad, so he invented his first tub, and it was called the ‘Serenity’ back then,” explained Terry Fessler with Dignity Bath. The Regina-based Dignity Bath supplies the walk-in tubs manufactured through Safety Bath.
Fessler’s motive for joining the company also came as the result of a personal experience.
“It even happened to my uncle years ago. He fell getting out of the tub, smashed his head up against the vanity, and had to go into a care home,” he said.
After talking to occupational therapists, chiropractors, and other medical professionals, Fessler discovered that the bathroom is where most seniors face safety risks at home.
To address this, he started working with Dignity Bath to help more seniors prevent a repeat of his uncle’s experience, and today he’s sold countless tubs with a link to small town Saskatchewan.
When a tub is ordered, Fessler is usually the guy to install it too.
“For a tub, I take up to two and a half days, because I like to do everything right the first time and make sure it’s all done properly,” he said.
“Our tub door kits — four hours and I’m in and out. You can use it the next day to shower in, but if you want to have a bath, you (must) wait three or four days for the silicone to cure properly.”
The door system is fibreglass with an acrylic compound coating, as compared to fibreglass with a gel coating. The main benefit to using acrylics is that it doesn’t fade and lose its colour, whereas a gel coating will fade in sunlight and turn yellow over time.
Newer models have an improved access system that automatically locks when the door is closed. To prevent accidentally opening the door, the bather pushes a button and pulls back a handle to exit.
Newer versions such as the Grandeur also include an outward-swinging door, making them wheelchair accessible and easier to enter, compared with the older Panama models.
“You always hear people say, ‘Well you’ve got to sit in there for 10 minutes while it drains.’ Not on our tubs you don’t,” he said. The tubs fill in about four to five minutes, and with a standard two-inch drain, the tub empties in around 70 seconds.
The tubs do come with a cost, and Fessler advises customers give him a call first. In one instance, he said a customer could have received a similar tub from him at half the price he paid elsewhere.
“They are expensive… but you figure the difference of spending the money to put one of these tubs in your house that you can stay in longer… (is better than) paying the cost to go into a care home.”
Considering the average monthly cost to stay in a care home, Fessler said the tubs can usually pay for themselves after only three months.
All tubs come with standard features such as air jets that provide automatic self-cleaning, but Fessler said it’s like buying a car – a few of the optional add-on features include water jets and underwater lighting. All models come standard with self-cleaning air jets that engage automatically around 15 minutes after bathing.
“It’s also easier on their kids, because they’re not worried about their parents getting in and out of the bath,” he added.
He said Safety Bath has one of the best warranties available on the market. A five-year warranty on the air jets and taps come standard, and the Moen taps can be replaced quickly and easily. If there are problems, Fessler will come to your house and fix it.
For more information about Dignity Bath, call 306-591-5050 or visit the company’s website at DignityBath.ca.
More information about the supplier, Safety Bath Walk-in Tubs, can be found at SafetyBathTubs.com.
