My mother had one that looked good and was comfortable for her to sit in for long periods.

What she didn't like was how slow it was to lift her up. (she would cuss the thing for being pokey ).

We found hers at a medical supply store.

ML

You will be surprised at how many stores carry them, but they look like regular overstuffed chairs. We recently bought one at a local furniture store for an elderly bachelor uncle. Just call and ask the store if they carry them, how many they have in stock and the price range. Lots of price difference and they really sit differently (seat width, leg depth, back height, etc). Some vibrate, some have heat and massage, etc. If your dad can go with you to buy that's the best option. Ask about the warranty and who does repairs. Uncles currently makes a click and needs something adjusted. Friend said her sisters chair (sis has MS) accidentally pinched the wiring and stopped mid-lift, sliding her out of the chair to the floor where she lay till her hubby came home from work. So, having a phone or life-net close by may come in handy.

Uncle was pretty upset that it didn't swivel like his old standard chair, but that's not possible with a lift chair.

Maddielee, thanks! My grandmother had one, and she thought it was slow, too.

Hilltop, no kidding? Regular furniture stores? I'm going to make some phone calls! Fortunately, Mom and Dad both have the life-nets; in fact, Dad sat down too hard once and did set it off, the company called, but fortunately didn't have to call for help. We all felt better knowing it works :)

Thanks for all the tips, GWers are the best.

Oh yeah, wouldn't want a fast one....flinging gramma across the room.. Duck! Here comes Gramma!

Annie, you are too funny!

I bought my mother's lift chair from Walgreens. It's actually a Pride brand, but they list it was Walgreens on their website (guess they have some kind of agreement?). Regular price 799, got it on sale for 499 (or was it 479? not sure).

My MIL passed last December. Medicare paid for part of it (the motor) and we paid for the remainder. Medical supply store.

My mother has had one for years. My brother bought it for her when she really didn't need it. It sat unused in her bedroom.

After a recent fall she was hospitalized and in rehab for a total of one month.

When the rehab coordinator came to the hospital to interview us..I asked if we could bring her lift chair to the rehab facility (her room) and she said the lift chairs were a no-no except for rare cases. That they cause more harm than good. She was a Physical Therapist.

After she went home from rehab we left the lift chair in the bedroom still unused.

Just my experience.

red_lover that's interesting that the rehab coordinator said the lift chairs did more harm than good. The assisted living where uncle is living said he really, REALLY needed to get one. At 86 he was literally falling into his swivel chair when going to sit, and when he tried to stand it took numerous attempts for him to get positioned and ultimately shove off. The swivel part was an accident waiting to happen. Plus the chair had been well used and thus sat lower and he was relatively tall. They asked if we could get him a lift-chair ASAP.

But your comments do make the point that there are probably a lot of used/unused lift chairs out there so it might pay to watch the newspaper and craigslist ads.

I think her point was that my mother was going to rehab to work on muscle strength, balance, OT, and so many other things that would allow her to return home and hopefully keep her from falling again.

By the time she went home she had made amazing progress.

I think the PTs feel that the lift chairs allow clients like my mom to let the chair do the work for them allowing muscles to waste. These muscles help prevent falls.

I'm sure this is not true for all patients and lift chairs can be useful for some. Just describing my moms recent experience.

I was even surprised that the PT didn't like my moms walker (rollerator). She said they get away too easily. Indeed this is what my mom was using when she fell. So, I purchased a plain old-fashioned walker.

I'll bet there are a lot of bargains out there on lift chairs. We sold my MILs for next to nothing after a couple of months use.

One time we rented a vacation house that had a lift chair in it. We had a ball playing with that thing. By the end of the week, I was ready to get one from home. It feels kind of good to be lifted and lowered with no effort. It looked ridiculous when left in the up position. It kind of hovered in the air, on a tilt. It was made by Invacare.

I think my moms even vibrates ;-)