Why we invented the Doty Belt, the Best Lift Assist Harness

Published on June 18, 2013 in Doty Belt History

Glen Doty is currently a Captain with a California Fire Department and has been in the fire service for 20 years. Over that time period he have responded to hundreds of medical calls. He has witnessed not only a population of people becoming more overweight, but the frequency of lift assists calls growing exponentially.

The idea of the Lift Assist Harness came about when he was on a call and his crew needed to lift an individual from the ground to her wheel chair. The patient was going to be a difficult lift. There was no way to get in a proper lifting position without compromising thier backs. The patient was not going to be comfortable while lifting her and they were not in a good ergonomic position. They managed to get her up, but it was by no means easy on her or them. That’s when he thought to himself there has to be a better way.

Over the past two years, he has spent countless hours designing and developing prototypes that could handle this scenario and more like it. He did not want to just make a belt that was inexpensively made and not tested. The DotyBelt/Lift Assist Harness has been tested to UL standards for life safety harness and the stitching has been pulled up to 1500 lbs without tearing or wear to the handles. Why test so high? He know the importance of a quality product and he wanted First Responders and Caregivers to know that when they go to lift a patient or a family member, that they can do it with the confidence that everything will hold.