What Is a Hospital Bed & How Does It Work?

Did you recently learn that yourself, or a loved one, needs to secure a hospital bed to assist with recovery or to maximize long-term comfort?

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We’re here to guide you through the world of hospital beds and help you navigate the many models and accessories available. In fact, we’re confident that Terry Lesiak, Conval-Aid’s resident hospital bed expert, knows more about these beds—and how to acquire one quickly—than anyone else in the Ottawa area.

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How Does a Hospital Bed Work?

Hospital beds are designed for people in need of some form of specialized health care. Most resemble a twin bed but are much sturdier and offer special features that benefit both the patient and the caregiver.

First and foremost, a hospital bed is adjustable. It features perfectly placed hinges that allow the angle of the head and foot sections of the bed to be repositioned, and you can also change the height of the bed. Electric controls operate all these adjustments.

Additionally, they are built with patient safety in mind. For instance, most have, or can accommodate, protective side rails to help prevent falls that could result in serious injury.

Choosing the right bed can be tricky as there are many models and brands to select from. To get started, ask your healthcare provider or occupational therapist for suggestions. (Or, of course, Terry can answer any questions you might have.)

Electric Hospital Bed

Electric beds are by far the easiest to use because they virtually eliminate the need for manual labour. With the touch of a button, the bed can be changed from a flat position to a seated position.

Some full-electric hospital beds are referred to as “high low” medical beds. These beds are recommended for situations where the height of a bed needs to be changed often. For example, a patient might require the bed to be lowered to get safely in and out of bed, while a caregiver needs it to be raised in order to attend to the patient without straining. We’ve found these beds beneficial in situations where weight capacity is a concern, for people with limited mobility and for those suffering from ailments like dementia.

What Size Are Hospital Beds?

Before ordering your bed, assess the space you have available. Generally, these beds take up more space than a twin bed does.

Standard Beds

Each model will be a bit different, but a standard medical bed is approximately 36″ wide (wider with side rails) and 88″ long, with a slightly smaller sleeping area.

Bariatric Beds

Bariatric hospital beds are extra-large and designed to support a higher weight capacity. (They are ideal for patients that weigh between 350 to 1000 pounds.) A scale is often incorporated into these fully automatic specialty beds.

See our recommendations for the best hospital beds for home use to learn more about your options.

How Do I Choose a Hospital Mattress?

If a patient is bedridden or must spend more time in bed than not, the type of mattress you choose becomes very important. To avoid bed sores, you’ll want to select a material that properly distributes a patient’s weight across the surface of the bed. Thankfully, you can pick from gel, foam and air mattresses. Additional padding and mattress covers are offered to improve comfort as well.

Can I Rent a Hospital Bed?

Yes! You can either rent or buy a hospital bed. Renting is a great decision if you know you’ll only need the bed temporarily. However, if you are hoping to obtain a bed for a senior or have a long-term need, we recommend purchasing a bed and mattress.

Unfortunately, there is almost no government funding available for medical beds, so they are often an out-of-pocket expense. That said, some supplemental or employer group insurance plans do reimburse durable medical equipment (DME) expenses up to a certain amount. If you have one of these plans, it’s worth looking into!

Why Work with an Occupational Therapist?

If a patient is recovering from an injury or returning home from a hospital stay, the assigned occupational therapist (OT) is a wonderful resource. With access to medical history records and an understanding of rehabilitation plans, they can make proper recommendations. An OT can also explain other medical equipment that might be required, such as a trapeze (a bar a patient used to lift and reposition themselves with). Conval-Aid works closely with the OT community in Ottawa.

Talk to Terry about Your Hospital Bed Needs

If you have any questions at all, contact Terry. Why? Because he has the answers. And, he’ll do whatever it takes to reduce your stress by making this process easier for you.

You can count on Terry to:

• Carefully listen to you and offer his best advice.
• Walk you through manufacturer websites and discuss the features of various beds.
• Speak with the OT on your behalf.
• Organize a short-term solution for you while you wait for your order to come in.
• Email your invoices and receipts or take your order directly over the phone.
• Arrange for delivery and set-up. (He might even do it himself!)
• Secure a hospital bed for you because Conval-Aid has beds in stock.

With Terry’s help, you can focus on getting your loved one home and comfortably settled in a safe and secure bed.

SPEAK WITH TERRY ABOUT HOSPITAL BEDS

A Guide to Hospital Beds

A Guide to Hospital Beds

Posted on 7 September 2017 in Care Beds

Hospital beds come in many shapes and sizes with lots of different functions. They’re designed to cover every possibility in care environments, so they can be a bit intimidating if it’s your first time looking at them. There are so many options to choose from and lots of advantages so here’s our guide to hospital beds.

Let’s take a look at a few different things to look out for.

With competitive price and timely delivery, Newcentury sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

How big are hospital beds?

This varies depending on the model, but our hospital beds tend to be around 220cm in length, and 97cm in width. This should cater to the average patient; however, some bed suppliers may offer specialised models to suit taller users and bariatric individuals.

For instance, our hospital beds are all available in paediatric and bariatric sizes, and they all include built-in length adjustments so taller users can keep comfy without having to switch beds.

Some suppliers now specialise in creating beds with slightly narrower external dimensions that are slim enough to fit through doorways with no hassle. The Interlude range is a great example of this.

Manual or Electric?

Hospital beds can either be totally manual, semi-electric, or fully electric. These are just different ways that the positioning of the bed can be changed.

A manual hospital bed will include cranks to adjust the position and height of the mattress platform. Any time that the position of the bed needs to be changed, someone has to physically do it.

As you can imagine, this is particularly pesky if you have a patient who regularly needs repositioning. On the plus side, manual hospital beds are cheaper.

Semi-electric models combine manual and electric functions to create a more flexible bed that requires less physical labour and handling. Generally speaking, any footboard or headboard adjustments can be made electronically simply by pushing a button.

However, the height of the bed is still handled manually. So really, a semi-electric model is good for someone who doesn’t require too much height adjustability but might need more regular foot and head repositioning.

Fully electric hospital beds are typically superior in how easy they are to use and the amount of adjustability they offer. These models are plugged into an electrical socket and can be controlled through a handset or a control panel on the bed itself.

Through this, you can control the head and foot sections of the bed, and the height of the bed itself. Some electric beds also boast additional adjustable features, like the Interlude range.

We wholeheartedly believe that hospitals should now be using fully electric beds to ensure the best quality care and minimal risk of injury to staff.

Accessories & Additional Features

Many hospital beds will be equipped with a range of features to make it even easier to care for the patient; from Trendelenburg and Anti-Trendelenburg positions to X-ray plates and IV poles.

Lots of hospital beds now come with built-in siderails to prevent the patient from falling out of bed. This is a great step forward as it ensures that the bed is adhering to siderail regulations.

If hospital beds don’t have built-in siderails, it is possible to buy a pair to fit the bed. But beware, these may not adhere to siderail regulations and could actually cause harm to the patient if installed incorrectly.

Every model in the Interlude range is available with split siderails and metal concertina siderails, making it easier to reposition the patient without compromising their safety.

Conclusion

Ultimately, you want to be looking for the best hospital beds available if you want to ensure the best quality of care. These should combine easy-to-use functions (i.e., being fully electric with numerous repositioning options) with comfort to keep patients and hospital staff happy and well.

To determine what kind of bed to go for, you really need to look at exactly what you need from your hospital bed. This may depend on which ward it will be situated on, or what kind of patients will be using it — but any good hospital bed supplier should be able to help you out with all of this.

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