Wheelchair Seating Clinic & Mobility Clinic

Seating and Mobility Services at Shepherd Center

The Wheelchair Seating & Mobility Clinic at Shepherd Center offers people with disabilities a variety of seating and mobility services. Therapists help you make personalized decisions about seating and mobility devices to address your needs and meet your lifestyle goals. Prior to your seating clinic appointment, you will need to select a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier. A DME supplier sells wheelchairs and other medical equipment. The seating clinic staff then informs your preferred supplier about your appointment time and date. Shepherd Center does not provide or sell any equipment. Your supplier attends your evaluation and works with the seating clinic staff to offer equipment options. In addition, your supplier answers your questions about funding, delivery, and service of your custom equipment.

When your equipment is approved, we strongly recommend that patients return to the seating clinic for delivery and proper fitting of your equipment. This service ensures that the prescribed equipment fits appropriately and adjustments maximize function and postural support.

We recommend that you make yearly appointments with your supplier. Regular maintenance and adjustments keep your equipment safe and operational for years.

Seating and Mobility Services Provided

A therapist performs one or more of the following specialized evaluations to address each person's specific needs:

Wheelchair evaluation determines the most efficient and functional means of mobility. Shepherd Center offers a variety of manual and power wheelchairs from many manufacturers for patients to try. A variety of control systems can be set up on a power wheelchair to evaluate and train patients to independently drive a power wheelchair. A functional evaluation helps identify equipment that allows each person the most independence in transfers, weight shifts, and daily activities.

Posture evaluation determines the flexibility of postural deviations. Based on the evaluation, your specialist recommends appropriate seating system options to address balance, improve posture and minimize the potential for skin injury. We also collect measurements to fit the wheelchair and seating system to the individual.

Pressure mapping evaluation determines the most appropriate wheelchair cushion and backrest to effectively distribute pressure. An educational and assessment tool, this mapping system identifies the areas of highest risk for skin breakdown.

Wheelchair training optimizes function in multiple environments. Shepherd Center’s terrain garden simulates obstacles frequently encountered in a person’s typical environment to improve mobility and independence. Options include grass, gravel, sloped sidewalks, curb cuts, and multiple-height curbs.

Education and Training are an integral part of all services provided in the Wheelchair Seating & Mobility Clinic at Shepherd Center. From optimal wheelchair propulsion to weight shift techniques to positioning in the seating system, the seating therapists strive to make sure patients and caregivers fully understand their equipment choices and optimal function with the use of the equipment.

How To Schedule an Appointment

A physician referral is required for an appointment at the Wheelchair Seating & Mobility Clinic. Download the referral form below, which must be filled out by your physician and then faxed to us. If you have not been contacted within two days after the form has been submitted, call 404-355-1144 and ask for Outpatient Scheduling.

Download Physician Referral Form

Additional Wheelchair Seating Information

Get more information about scheduling an appointment at Shepherd Center’s Wheelchair Seating & Mobility Clinic. See the links below for more information on frequently asked questions.

• Understand your options if Medicare is your primary insurance.
• Understand your options if Medicaid is your primary insurance.
• Find out what happens during your appointment.
• Find out what happens after your appointment.
• Find out who to contact about problems with your wheelchair or equipment.

For more information, call 404-350-7759.