This application is related to an apparatus and method for improving venous blood flow in mobility-impaired patients. In one aspect, the apparatus is a motorized or powered rocking chair with a footplate. The rocking chair and footplate rotate through physiologically relevant ranges of motion either at the same frequency or at different frequencies in order to mechanically induce a calf muscle pump action in the dependent legs of a mobility-impaired patient. Artificially inducing the calf muscle pump action in such patients acts to boost the action of the heart and lessen blood pooling in the lower extremities of the legs.