Transfer boards by meinHOLTZ: "Assistive devices can be practical, modern and stylish at the same time"

At REHACARE 2019, Jennifer Schmidtke, Lisanne Stolpe-Blask and their team showcased the meinHOLTZ transfer boards to the public for the very first time. REHACARE.com asked them about the brand’s origin story, their trade fair experience and learned about stylish assistive devices.

What makes the meinHOLTZ transfer boards so unique?

Jennifer Schmidtke: Did you know that most of the transfer boards on the market have been developed as a tool for caregivers? That’s why they have a curved or "banana" shape to facilitate improved ergonomic comfort for caregivers. Yet in doing so, the industry completely overlooked all wheelchair users who are able to change positions on their own with the help of a transfer board. meinHOLTZ quite literally bridges this gap. We have adapted the shape to enable easy and safe transfers at the highest level of independence – users slide on a straight shape with a gentle trough on the surface. Conventional transfer boards have a smooth surface finish and thus can slide in all directions. If you use meinHOLTZ, you end up where you want to go and don't fall to the ground, as one user of another transfer board told us. Apart from functionality, it was also important to us that the transfer boards look stylish.

How does the modern look of the transfer boards correlate with self-determination for the users?

Lisanne Stolpe-Blask: Let us tell you a little story which illustrates this issue. meinHOLTZ is a brand made by the Transatlantic Company, which has produced and sold transfer aids for caregivers for many years. That is also why Transatlantic is an exhibitor at REHACARE every year. Each year, a young couple stopped by for a visit. She has MS, which doesn’t stop her from traveling and living a self-determined life. 2018 marked the first time she inquired about assistive devices to transfer in and out of a wheelchair. We showed her our classic transfer board – lackluster, made of plastic and just this product we specifically created for the care sector. Here is what she said, verbatim: "You seriously expect me to take this board into a nice hotel?". That was the moment when we – the industry – finally realized that transfer aids are not just for caregivers. It’s when we started to form the concept of creating a transfer board for wheelchair users. We teamed up with the Werner-Wicker-Klinik am Edersee and tested about 20 transfer boards made of different materials and in all kinds of different shapes. The essence of all of our endeavors is the meinHOLTZ transfer board. Wood is robust, solid and becomes even more beautiful as it ages. It is also an easy medium to work with and shape and it has a low net weight. This prompted us to team up with yet another expert: a skateboard manufacturer who knows how to build ergonomic, stable wooden boards – and makes them look great as well.

But to answer your question: Not everyone needs a transfer board at all times. However, some people told us that beds in hotels are occasionally too soft, making it impossible to transfer out of them on your own. At other times, the distance to get into a car other than your own is too far or people simply get "stuck" during the transfer. A transfer board like meinHOLTZ translates into a greater willingness to try out whether this board makes a transfer in situations like these easier, especially since other boards tend to remind users of their time spent at the hospital or rehabilitation facility. Having said that, many users who already actively use transfer boards on a daily basis are also excited about a modern, more stylish version of the assistive device. They like to proudly show off their meinHOLTZ transfer board.

You were also an exhibitor at REHACARE 2019. How was the feedback on location and how can you use this to your advantage?

Schmidtke: REHACARE 2019 marked the kickoff for our meinHOLTZ transfer boards. Up to that point, we put advertisements in RehaTreff or the annual publication of the Sports Association for Disability and Rehabilitation of Hesse (Hessischer Behinderten-und Rehabilitations-Sportsverband e.V.), but no one had seen the transfer boards in live-action except for us. During the trade fair event, some people wondered "where we put the wheels on our skateboards" or asked "how you mount this shelf". That being said, the first comment from anyone who is familiar with transfer boards, in general, was decidedly positive. People were thrilled that assistive devices are now also available in stylish options. Social media influencers likewise visited our booth and recommended our products on their sites, even if they don’t need to use a transfer board for their own purposes. It is important for us to show that assistive devices are practical yet can be modern and stylish all at the same time. We definitely succeeded in accomplishing this task at REHACARE, and we hope that more people will hear about us and that more assistive technology manufacturers are inspired to follow our lead.

What does inclusion mean to you?

Stolpe-Blask: Inclusion means everyone is accepted and has full participation everywhere.