By Natalie Maruschak

John Knox Village Foundation has an important piece of equipment for its Rehabilitation Program thanks to an $11,000 grant from Greater Lee’s Summit Healthcare Foundation.

“The LiteGait is a device that supports a patient who is limited in the ability to stand, walk, transfer or sit independently,” Patty Wilke, director of rehabilitation says. This device makes life a little bit easier on the community’s elders, and assists them in sitting and rising.

Gail Benne, president of the JKV Foundation, offers more details on how the rehabilitation device works. “The device provides a safe way,” she says, “to bring a patient to a standing position, allows the patient to build postural and lower extremity strength, and helps him/her learn how to walk again without fear of falling.” It is safer for the patients to use, as it reduces the risk of injury through a fall.

This device was purchased with the funds from a grant the John Knox Village Foundation received earlier this year from the Greater Lee’s Summit Healthcare Foundation. Totaling over $11,000, the grant allows the foundation to add to their rehabilitation services, therefore expanding the number of seniors they serve. The Foundation currently serves daily about 1,200 on-campus residents and 3,500 members throughout the community on an annual basis. “Conservatively, we estimate that the LiteGait could be used on at least 50% of our patients at some point,” Benne states.

“The positive impact provided by the LiteGait extends beyond the patient. It also impacts the lives of their caregivers and loved ones whose emotional, physical, and financial support is necessary to the patient.” Bene says, “Many of these caregivers and family members will also be Lee’s Summit residents-also whose life may be positively and forever changed by the availability of this equipment.”

The Greater Lee’s Summit Healthcare Foundation annually provides grants to health-focused nonprofits within Lee’s Summit.