- Featuring the Founders of Care Giver Support Products, LLC. (CGSP) -

The Caregivers

By Clive Soden

The old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” rings true for the founders of Care Giver Support Products, LLC. (CGSP) — a company that manufactures a portable, foldaway shower that accommodates a wheelchair.  As Larry Arnold, the company’s inventor and Vice President of Development, said, “No one should be denied the comfort of a warm shower.”  But, before the FAWSsit™ Fold Away Wheelchair Shower came along, it was obvious to the five founders of the company that there were plenty of people being denied this comfort. 

From Left:  Steve Seidmeyer, Patricia Johnson, Judy Seidmeyer,  Larry Arnold (Rosemary Arnold not shown)

The idea for the company began at a neighborhood café when Larry’s wife, Rosemary, mentioned her husband’s latest “invention” to Judy Seidmeyer and Patricia Johnson.  Rosemary must have been talking to the right people because it didn’t take long for Judy, a Registered Pharmacist, and Pat, a Registered Nurse, to recognize the fact that Larry’s portable shower invention would fill a pressing need for people with disabilities. 

Judy, who is now the President and CEO of CGSP, left her previous position as a health-care executive for IBM to care for her sister who was battling cancer.  Judy became well acquainted with the trials and

frustrations of caring for an individual who was too weak to provide for her own needs.  With her fresh view of the caregiver role, Judy was quick to lend her years of business expertise to the positioning of the FAWSsit™ portable shower product into the market place.  She knows her company is doing something worthwhile.  “One of our customers had not had a shower since he was 18 years old and he is now in his fifties,” Judy said. “The joy of that shower was overwhelming for him.”

Pat has also spent her career in the health-care industry as nurse, educator, author and family caregiver.  In her 39 years of nursing experience, Pat was very much aware of the need for a convenient, simple bathing device for the medical community.  Pat, now the Vice President of Marketing for CGSP, knows the challenges of providing quality home care.  She recalled the story of a family member in a wheelchair who found the only way he had of showering was to go out into the yard and use the garden hose. 

But the FAWSsit™ portable shower is not just for the elderly confined to the home.  “It opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the active disabled X-Y generation,” Pat said, “allowing them to camp and hunt and participate in activities and then be able to immediately shower.”

Larry, the company’s inventor, also concurred that the product is for people of any age and told about a 15-year old whose parents found it increasingly difficult to lift her in and out of the tub.  They were renting the home and unable to do any modifications so bathing became a real issue.  “Now, with the FAWSsit™ portable shower,” Larry said, “the daughter is able to shower daily without risk of injury to herself or her parents.”  

Rounding out the company founders is Steve Seidmeyer, the Vice President of Sales.  After retiring from careers in the wholesale pharmaceutical and the telecommunications businesses, Steve suffered a heart attack and learned first hand how important a shower was to improve circulation and promote healing.  Using his expertise in sales and marketing, Steve now works to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from the FAWSsit™ portable shower.  He gets much satisfaction from working for CGSP.  “It’s about people helping other people to make a difference in someone’s life,” Steve said. 

Thousands of people on a daily basis are denied the simple pleasure of a warm shower because they don’t have access to a shower that accommodates a wheelchair.  Proudly built in America, the FAWSsit™ portable shower is a foldaway wheelchair shower stall that can be set up and used anywhere there is access to warm water and an electrical outlet.  It is fully self-contained with shower head, drain pan and pump to remove waste water.  The FAWSsit™ portable shower weighs less than 40 pounds and is 48 by 35 by 8 inches when folded for storage and 48 by 35 by 36 inches when unfolded.  For further product details, refer to the CGSP Web site at: www.cgsp.net/.  For additional stories, read: "Bariatric Bathing Solutions" and "Accessible Bathing While Traveling."

Clive Soden is a writer and Web developer.  His Web site is at: www.clivesoden.com.