You may be looking at a floor lift because helping her move between the bed, chair, toilet or wheelchair has become more than one person can safely manage. The question is not only whether a lift can be delivered. It is whether this lift, with this sling, can do the work in her actual house.
Walk through one complete move before anyone places an order. Start where she will be lying or sitting. End where she needs to go. Include the helper, the lift base, the furniture, the floor and every turn between them. Write down the measurements and the questions that remain. Bring those questions to the person helping choose the equipment and to the care team that understands how she moves.
1. Her body has to fit the sling and the planned move
The sling is the part that holds her. Ask which sling is being ordered, how its size will be chosen and whether it is meant for the moves she needs. A sling used for moving to a chair may not be the one expected for toileting or another task.
The plan holds when someone has checked the fit, shown you where the sling should sit and explained which attachment points to use. The label and instructions should remain with the sling. If more than one sling will be in the house, mark which task each one is for without covering its label.
Make it a care-team question if she cannot stay in the position needed to place the sling, has pain during the move, slides within the sling, or needs support that the proposed sling does not provide. Do not solve an uncertain fit by guessing at loops or attachment points.
2. The lift has to reach under the furniture
Measure the open space beneath the bed, chair and any other destination. Check the lowest bar, motor housing and casters on the proposed lift, not just its overall height. Look for bed frames, reclining mechanisms, storage boxes and rugs that occupy the same space.
Then ask how wide the lift base must open for each move. Mark that width on the floor with removable tape. Put the chair, bedside table and other furniture where they will actually be. A base that opens wide enough in an empty room may strike a wall or dresser once the room is in use.
The house holds this part when the lift can approach closely enough, open as required and leave without dragging or twisting furniture. Ask the care team or equipment provider to reassess the setup if the lift cannot reach the planned position or if the move depends on pushing furniture aside every time.
3. The boom has to clear what is above her
Measure from the floor to the top of the mattress and to the highest point the lift must clear. Include a pressure pad, mattress topper or adjustable bed position that changes the height. At the chair, include the back, arms and any raised footrest.
Ask for the lift's usable lifting range. You need to know whether it can lift her high enough to clear the starting surface and lower her far enough into the destination. Overall machine height does not answer that question.
The plan holds when the full motion can happen without the boom, spreader bar or her feet meeting furniture, shelves, a ceiling fan or a low doorway. Make it a care-team question if the expected position of her body does not match the space you measured or if no one can explain how she will be lowered into a controlled sitting position.
4. The helper has to fit beside the lift
A lift takes more room than its footprint. The helper may need space at her shoulders, hips and knees to place the sling, guide the move and remove the sling afterward. Measure the standing space on both sides of the bed and around the chair. Notice walls, radiator covers, cords and tables that prevent a helper from getting close.
Ask the person demonstrating the lift to perform the whole sequence in the room where it will happen. Watch where that person stands and reaches. If your household expects a shorter, taller or less physically able helper to do the work, that person should be included in the practice.
The house holds when the assigned helper can complete each step without climbing over the bed, stretching across her body or becoming trapped between the lift and a wall. Ask the care team whether two helpers are needed if one person cannot manage the sling, guide her body and move the equipment as demonstrated.
5. The floor and route have to carry the entire move
Trace the route from storage to the bed, then from the bed to every planned destination. Measure the narrowest doorway and the tightest turn. Check thresholds, thick rugs, floor vents, loose boards and changes between hard floor and carpet. Include the lift at its required base width.
Do not assume the lift will be used only beside the bed. If the plan includes moving her across a room while suspended, ask whether that is how this equipment is intended to be used and demonstrated. If the plan is to transfer her into a wheelchair first, measure the wheelchair route separately.
The route holds when the lift rolls predictably through the real space and the helper can see and control where it is going. Stop and take the route back to the equipment provider or care team if casters catch, the base cannot stay in the demonstrated position, or a threshold changes how the lift moves.
6. The household has to hold storage, charging and backup
Choose a storage place before delivery. It should keep the lift available without blocking the bed, door, bathroom route or emergency exit. Measure the stored machine in the position it will actually occupy. If parts fold or detach, ask whether that is meant for daily storage and who can manage those steps.
For a powered lift, identify the outlet and the charging routine. Check whether the cord creates a trip path and whether the battery can be charged where the lift is stored. Ask how you can tell that it is ready, what regular checks the household must perform and whom to call when it does not respond as expected.
The plan holds when a named person owns charging, inspection and the call for help. Make it a care-team question if there is no workable way to move her when the lift is unavailable, especially when she cannot remain comfortably in one position while you wait.
Finish with a witnessed practice move
Delivery is not the finish line. Ask for a practice move using the actual lift, sling, bed, chair and helper. Keep her dignity in the plan. Close the door, arrange clothing and decide what will be explained before anyone touches or moves her.
Write down the sling used, the attachment points demonstrated, the number of helpers, the furniture position and the place where the lift will wait. Keep the equipment contact beside those notes.
If the move only works when an experienced demonstrator makes several quiet adjustments, ask to repeat it with the person who will usually be there. The right fit is not a lift that can be squeezed into the room. It is a complete move that your household can repeat without improvising around her.