Device lifts level of care at Rocky Hill group home

By: Jake Uitti
   ROCKY HILL — The Rocky Hill Group Home, a home that cares for developmentally disabled adults and run by The ARC, has received an early holiday gift from Church & Dwight, headquartered in Princeton.
   The home received a mechanical device known as a Hoyer Lift, which will make moving a disabled resident much easier, no longer requiring three aides to perform the job. Now, with the help of the motorized sling that hangs from the ceiling on a track, only one aide is needed to move a resident from a bed to a wheelchair or from a wheelchair to the bathroom, said Chris Gunning, acting director of residential services at the Rocky Hill Group Home.
   To commemorate the donation, Church & Dwight representatives Jaap Ketting and Patricia Berry presented an oversized check for $9,525 to Judy C. Miao, Bonnie Sovinee and Mr. Gunning, members of The ARC.
   Two tracks were installed in the building — one in the bathroom, another in one of the main-level bedrooms. Six people live in the Young Drive home, which provides 24-hour care to its residents.
   The home was in desperate need of the equipment, Mr. Gunning said. "The other option was for a much larger machine that isn’t portable," he said. "The Hoyer Lift is small and relatively simple to operate. We were lucky to get it."