Handicapped Access Rooms
Wouldn’t it be nice if people without disabilities were not the standard for everyone regardless of their abilities and dis-abilities? Wouldn’t it be great if doors had push button openers or doorbells so that they would really be accessible? How about if bathrooms just came with fashionable and discreet grab bars? And wouldn’t it be wonderful if most of the durable medical equipment that was on the market wasn’t so downright ugly.
Since my accident in 2007 I have had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of accessible rooms, and have been amazed and appalled about what passes for accessibility.
First off- what’s with the beds???
When did the standard for mattresses become 16 inches plus WITHOUT counting the box spring and the frame on which the bed sits. And if that isn’t enough, everything now comes with pillow tops which add another 3-5 inches to the height of the bed. Even the Princess in the children’s book The Princess and the Pea would fail to feel a pea under the mattresses today.
I mentioned struggling to get into the bed. Accessible rooms with mattresses that are 36”+ off the floor should be required to come with a Hoyer lift, or perhaps a ramp that a wheelchair could use. How about training on how to get in and out of the bed without causing a back injury?
And then there comes the reality for those of us who are of the female persuasion and have arrived at a certain age when the bladder requires more frequent visitation to the powder room. And can anyone tell me why these visits occur more frequently at night rather than during the day.
Some of my most depressing moments have occurred when I have walked into an accessible room and discovered that the top of the bed hits me just about mid-chest. (I am only 4’10” on a good day) While not every night requires multiple visits to the ladies room, some nights have me thinking fondly of commodes and catheters. Well maybe not really, but getting in and out of the newer hotel room beds is both an experience and a challenge for those of us who use crutches or a walker. My question is how do people who use wheelchairs, or who have less lower body mobility, or limited upper body mobility get in and out of these beds? I would love to hear about other people's experiences with this in hopes that I will learn a few things.
Is the cure worse than the disease?
One night when I was at an inn, after turning down the handicapped access room they offered me because it had an 8 inch step into the bathroom, I spent some time on the internet looking to see if there were standards for accessible rooms. Would you be surprised to hear that there are? There are all sorts of standards for grab bars and distances, etc., but not so much about furnishings. The same inn with the step into the bathroom was, they told me, in compliance with New Hampshire’s code because they had the required number of and locations for grab bars in the bathroom. Which, by the way, did not have a shower but the tub had more grab bars than a child’s playground!
The 2002 ADA regulations are quite clear on the amount of space that has to be on either side of the bed in a particular hotel room, and the number of accessible rooms and roll in showers there need to be in relation to the total number of hotel rooms, but there is no requirement that beds, mattresses, or other furniture be as accessible as the room itself. That is of course unless you are in a Legislative, Regulatory, or Judicial setting, also known as a jail. I feel so much better, don’t you?
