Founder: Mike Hanley (2022)

Necessity is the mother of invention. This certainly holds true for the beginnings of SafeWheelchair.com.

In his eighties, Mike’s dad, Dave, moved in with him as his deteriorating health began to impact his daily life. Mobility quickly became a major focus, and the wheelchair became a central part of their everyday routine.

Yet, Mike and Dave refused to settle for a less active lifestyle. Winters in Florida, cruising, flying, and a busy social life remained top priorities. They figured that seamlessly integrating the wheelchair into their adventures was completely doable—and at first, it was.

Over time, however, managing the wheelchair proved not only inconvenient, but a real safety hazard. When Dave attempted to get in and out of the chair on his own, it became a scary endeavor.

The main culprit? The footrests.

When Dave was seated, the footrests had to remain down to support his legs. But to exit the chair, he either had to struggle to bend down and lift the footrests out of the way—frequently resulting in dangerous falls—or try to tuck his feet behind them and step over them. It was a recipe for an emergency room visit.

Mike scoured the market for a remedy, but found nothing. Undeterred, he set out to create a solution himself, establishing a clear set of goals:

 Automatically keep footrests up and out of the way when needed.

 Provide a secure lock to keep footrests down when seated.

 Design a universal fit for most wheelchair leg extensions.

 Keep it simple to install and affordable.

Dozens of prototypes later, Mike settled on a winning design. Realizing no other product like it existed, he pursued and was awarded a utility patent. The ROTATOR footrest position kit was born. No more tripping and falling, and no more awkward bending down to position the footrests.

Expanding the Mission: The Flip Clip

As Dave regained mobility, he was occasionally able to leave the wheelchair and walk with the assistance of a cane. However, bringing the cane along every time was a constant hassle.

Solving this next hurdle, Mike designed a clever bracket mechanism that mounts securely to the wheelchair handles. Any cane fits horizontally into these brackets, keeping it with the chair at all times. Designed with a thumb-activated clip, the cane can be detached instantly whenever needed.

An added bonus? The stored cane doubles as a pushbar for easy, one-handed maneuvering. And just like that, The FLIP CLIP was born.

To bring these innovations to life, Mike partnered with designer and engineer Joe Divisio. Together, they turned working prototypes into finished products ready to help millions of wheelchair users, caregivers, and medical professionals worldwide.

Our Mission: "At SafeWheelchair.com, our mission is to help reduce wheelchair-related falls and injuries while improving the quality of life for thousands of people who rely on wheelchairs for daily mobility."