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Publication: December 2007 edition of Life After 50 and is reprinted with permission

Locally made product offers a helping hand to open doors
Great Grips make great gifts

Ever had trouble opening a door? If you or a loved one has arthritis or a condition that leads to arm or hand weakness, you know what we mean.

Great Grips, a locally designed and manufactured product, might be the solution. These nifty items slip over a doorknob and enable anyone to easily open the door. They come in clear, red and blue "which can be used for hot and cold faucets" and a glow-in-the-dark version, as well as one infused with an antimicrobial agent.

Best of all, they’re quite affordable and make great stocking stuffers. A home modification pack with five Great Grips costs $16.95; a glow-in-the-dark two-pack sells for $8.95, and the antimicrobial version costs $9.95 for a two-pack.

Great Grips are made of a latex-free, stretchy plastic that contains an ultraviolet ray inhibitor so the Colorado sun doesn’t damage them. They don’t heat up and can stand a wide range of temperatures. They’re elastic enough so that one size fits all doorknobs. It takes a little strength to stretch them over a doorknob or faucet, but no tools are required for installation.

Because of a protrusion on one side, "you can use a closed fist to open the door," Going says.

The glow-in-the-dark version is infused with crystals that are recharged by light in the home.

"This could preclude the need for some night lights for a small energy saving," Going says.

When placed on a front or back door, they can guide the occupants of a house to a safe exit in the event of fire or another emergency.

Great Grips can be special-ordered in custom colors, and they can be printed with advertising messages for promotional purposes.

Great Grips is the brainchild of Pat Going, former director of the Southern Colorado branch of the Arthritis Foundation, and Bill Youmans, a member of the organization’s board of directors.

"We were working with a lot of people with hand impairments," Going says. "It was very obvious that round doorknobs were a challenge."

The two encountered one woman who had wrapped multiple rubber bands around the doorknob so she could open her front door. They decided they would try to come up with something better.

Over several years, they developed many prototypes.

"Our breakthrough came when we linked up with Moldrite Products of Colorado Springs, an injection molder," Going says. "Steve Kaiser, the owner-manager, worked with us to develop what ended up being a single-level doorknob cover."

Within a short time of getting the word out about Great Grips, the product caught the attention of AARP, which bought 50,000. An organization called Rebuilding Together, which does home modifications for seniors and people with disabilities, also placed a large order.

Then two large pharmaceutical companies, Araba and Mobic, each bought more than 200,000 Great Grips and presented them to physicians as an advertising give-away.

"That really launched us," Going says.

The company got further boosts when Great Grips were featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal and on a segment of Good Morning America.

The company now has sold more than a million Great Grips, which are available at Ace Hardware and can be ordered through online and print catalogs including Active Forever, Dynamic Living, Ergo Guys, Preston-Sammons and Gold Violin. They can also be ordered through the Great Grips Web site.

"All of us involved in Great Grips have other jobs," says Going, who also serves as project director for the Rocky Mountain ADA Center. "This is a labor of love.

"We receive incredible letters from people saying that this item has given them their independence back."

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