Which hoist is right for us? A plain-English guide for families
Most people don't choose a hoist. It arrives. An OT visits after a fall or a diagnosis, a piece of equipment turns up a few weeks later, and the family learns to live with it. That's how it went for many of the people whose stories are on this site, and it's why we've just published two new pages: a side-by-side comparison of the main types of hoist and a frequently asked questions page that answers, in two or three sentences each, the questions we get asked on the phone every week.
This post is the short version — the things we wish every family knew before the equipment arrived.
There are really only five kinds of hoist
Once you strip away the brand names, transfer equipment comes down to a handful of approaches, and each one asks something different of the person being moved.
A sling hoist (a Hoyer lift, if you're American) can lift almost anyone, from almost anywhere, including the floor. The price of that is the sling: a fabric seat that has to be worked underneath the person before every transfer and removed afterwards. It's slow, it's the part of caring that hurts backs, and in most care facilities it's a two-person job.
A sit-to-stand hoist is quicker and needs only one caregiver, but the person has to be able to bear weight through their legs, hold on and balance. When those abilities go — and with conditions like MND /ALS, MS or muscular dystrophy they do go — the standing hoist stops being safe.
A ceiling hoist is the long-term answer for one or two rooms: it lifts anyone, needs one caregiver, and lives out of the way on its track. It needs installation, it still needs a sling, and it doesn't come with you to the lounge, the car or your daughter's house.
Body-support systems and split-seat lifts both get rid of the sling in clever ways, and for the right person they're good options; the comparison page explains where each one fits.
And then there's the Kera sit2sit, which we make. It's for the specific and very large group of people who can no longer stand or hold on, but who can be transferred sitting. One caregiver, no sling, no power, under two minutes, and the lower body stays free so toileting and dressing happen during the transfer rather than needing another one. We designed it because that gap — one caregiver, non-weight-bearing person, at home — was being filled by sling hoists that were never meant for it.
The question that decides it
If you take one thing from this post, take this: the question isn't "which hoist is best?" but "what can the person do, today, and what will they be able to do in six months?"
If they can still stand with support, a sit-to-stand hoist may keep that ability going, and that's worth protecting. If they can't stand but can sit, the Kera is usually the simplest, kindest option for a single caregiver. If they need lifting from the floor regularly, or weigh more than 120 kg, you need a sling or ceiling hoist, whatever else you have. Plenty of homes end up with two pieces of equipment — a ceiling hoist in the bedroom for bed and floor, and a Kera for everything else — and that's not a failure of planning, it's the right answer.
Your OT will make this call with you, and they'll want to trial the equipment in your home rather than decide from a catalogue. Our dealers will bring a Kera to you for exactly that reason.
"Do we really need two people?"
This is the question we hear most from families, and the honest answer is: with a sling hoist, often yes, and with the Kera, no. The single-caregiver transfer is the whole point of the design. The Kera’s handle does the work, so the effort for the caregiver is roughly a quarter of the person's weight on the Kera 80 and a fifth on the Kera 120.
Margaret, whose husband Jim she'd been lifting alone all day, put it more plainly than we ever could: her back, she said, "now has a chance to heal."
What it costs, and who pays
We've also answered the money questions directly on the FAQ page, because we know they're the ones people search for at eleven at night.
In Australia the Kera is mid-cost assistive technology under the NDIS and sits in the high tier of the new Support at Home scheme for people over 65; in New Zealand it's funded through the usual disability and ACC pathways. In every case the process starts with an OT assessment and trial.
Our New Zealand and Australian funding pages walk through each pathway step by step.
Where to go next
Start with the comparison page if you want to see the five options side by side, or the FAQ if you have a specific question. If you'd rather talk to a person, contact us or any of our dealers — we'll help you work out which pathway and which equipment fit your situation, and there's no obligation in a trial.
And if you're an OT or physio reading this: both pages were written with you in mind too. The comparison table is deliberately category-level and candid about where the Kera isn't the right answer, so you can share it with families without caveats.
