Ramp Up Kentucky! Report

There have been 35 temporary ramps distributed. There were 3 ramp kits distributed. There were 27 follow-up telephone surveys completed. Attempts were made to contact all thirty-five (35) consumers that received temporary ramps and the 3 ramp kit consumers. The overall response rate for the telephone survey was seventy-five (75) percent.

Consumer Quotations:

“Amazing, having portable ramp changed my life. I’m now able to take my daughter and her wheelchair out of the house easily for a walk to the park or a drive. We also use the portable ramp to get her wheelchair into the van. Before this, my other children had to stay home unless their dad was home to help lift their sister’s wheelchair. We have left the house every day since we have had the portable ramp.”
“Very grateful for this program.”
“Continue please, there are many more people who need this!”
“Very blessed to have this program.”
“It’s a good program, has helped me out a lot.”
“Very grateful, I was able to try it out before buying a portable ramp. The portable ramp didn’t work for our house.”
“As a case manager on the spinal cord unit at Cardinal Hill, I often have patients that have suffered a spinal cord injury and need resources fast; especially ramps. Ramp UP was easy and helpful. It helped get a person home from the hospital and removed a barrier for a patient trying to adjust to their new normal.”

By the Numbers:

Number of ‘hits’ on website and other social networking sites: 2,712
Applications for ramp loans received: 35
Ramps distributed through long-term loan: 35
Applications for ramp building kits received: 4
Ramp building kits distributed: 3
% who report the application process was easy: 100%
% receiving ramps and ramp building kits receiving government assistance: 94%
% receiving ramps and ramp building kits who self-report earlier transition from a facility or the ability to remain at home: 44%
% receiving ramps and ramp building kits who self-report increase in independence: 44%
% satisfied with the project: 100%

Success Stories:

Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital: “I wanted to thank everyone involved with the Ramp UP program. It truly is a great service and helped my patient out during their time of great need. As a case manager on the spinal cord unit at Cardinal Hill, I often have patients that have suffered a spinal cord injury and need resources fast; especially ramps. Ramp UP was easy and helpful. It helped get a person home from the hospital and removed a barrier for a patient trying to adjust to their new normal. Thank you for all your help! Karah was great too at the Lexington location.”
Let’s Go to the Park: “Amazing, having portable ramp changed my life. I’m now able to take my daughter and her wheelchair out of the house easily for a walk to the park or a drive. We also use the portable ramp to get her wheelchair into the van. Before this, my other children had to stay home unless their dad was home to help lift their sister’s wheelchair. We have left the house every day since we have had the portable ramp.”
Community Inclusion: Nina’s neighbors sought a way to enable their friend to continue visiting their homes. Neighbors frequently host neighborhood dinners and book club gatherings. Nina’s recent decreased mobility has prevented her from visiting other homes on the street due to ingress/egress issues using her wheelchair. While Nina’s home has a permanent ramp, this did not help with getting her into other homes on the street to visit. Due to the generosity of Ramp Up Kentucky! and it’s funding source, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the neighbors were able to borrow a portable aluminum ramp to try out and provide access for Nina to get into the other homes in her neighborhood. With this try-before-you-buy opportunity, the neighbors have been able to identify a portable ramp suitable for use in their community, which they will then all be able to chip in to purchase a portable ramp to have permanently available for them to share throughout the neighborhood.”