What To Know Before Buying A Hospital Bed

Whether you&#;re a current hospital bed owner or are considering getting one, picking the right equipment is essential. As the medical needs of the person using it change over time, you may need to make additional purchases like upgrading your bed frame and mattress or buying accessories to help maintain their hygiene, mobility, safety, and comfort.

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Before buying hospital bed equipment, it&#;s crucial to carefully consider the needs of the person who will be using it. What safety features do you need? Will your patient or loved one need side rails to help keep them in bed during the night or to hold onto while getting in and out of bed? Or is having side rails on the bed more likely to lead to them getting injured? Is it better to invest in a trapeze bar, an overhead bar that allows patients to lift themselves by pulling on it? Is it better to invest in a bed and mattress that can be remotely lowered to the ground or tilted? There&#;s a lot to consider.

Your Hospital Bed or Mattress May Not Be Compatible With Certain Types of Equipment

Some mattresses, even hospital bed mattresses, may not function as intended with certain hospital beds. If you buy a specific hospital bed frame that is designed to shift or bend in a particular way, you must pair it with a hospital bed mattress intended to accommodate these functions. For example, suppose you have a hospital bed designed to do specific tilts involving the mattress bending in its center. In that case, conventional mattresses might not be suitable, as they could damage the mattress or harm the user.

If you are a person with excess weight, you may need a specialized bariatric bed if your weight lying down exceeds 250 pounds. Even if you have a high-quality bariatric mattress, you may also need a bariatric hospital bed frame, or your bed will not be able to support you comfortably and safely.

In addition to mattresses, some hospital bed accessories may not be compatible with every hospital bed, depending on the physical dimensions and features of the bed. Some hospital bed grip rails may be designed so that they won&#;t fit on some hospital beds. If you decide to get a mobility aid like a trapeze, you should make sure that your bed is designed to allow you to install such overhead fixtures safely.

When you&#;re shopping for hospital bed equipment, it&#;s essential to make sure it works as intended. Be sure to do your research before you make a purchase.

Hospital Bed Mattresses Have Features That May Remove the Need for Accessories

Before you spend the money on expensive hospital bed accessories, consider that you may be able to buy a hospital bed mattress that includes specific features. If you are in the market for a hospital bed, shopping for mattresses that have specific features may save you from having to spend more money on accessories as your medical needs change over time.

Hospital bed mattresses often have built-in features that make some hospital accessories unnecessary. A hospital bed mattress that comes with progressive laminated foams removes the need for certain mattress covers. Buying a mattress that includes low air loss or alternating pressure features eliminates the need for a mattress topper that includes these features. If you need help getting in and out of bed, it may be better to invest in a hospital bed that can lower to the ground using a remote control than a regular mattress and a proprietary step stool. It might be safer, too.

Suppose you have fine motor issues or are otherwise unable to use your hands to operate a remote. In that case, some hospital beds are compatible with voice-activated Environmental Control Units (ECUs) like Google Home and Amazon Echo. If you are concerned that having a hospital bed at home won&#;t mesh with your home decor, many home hospital beds are designed so that the wheels, supports, and other machinery are concealed, so there is no need to buy decorative hospital bed accessories to make your hospital bed look more like a conventional bed.

Make Sure You Have Room For Hospital Bed Equipment

Hospital beds, like regular beds, take up a lot of space. Unlike traditional beds, they may require extra space, particularly if you plan on getting a bed that can raise, lower, or tilt itself. If you plan on getting additional equipment, you need to plan to have space for that as well. 

Using a hospital bed in a room that is too cramped can lead to mobility issues or even serious injuries. Whatever equipment you buy, make sure it doesn&#;t obstruct any exits to the room, create tripping hazards, make it difficult to get in and out of bed, or make it difficult to administer medical treatment to the person who is using it. 

It&#;s also a good idea to try to anticipate not only your current needs, or the needs of your patient or loved one, but your future needs as well. Suppose you or the person you care for has mobility issues or a medical condition that may result in mobility issues. In that case, it&#;s probably a good idea to invest in a bed that includes grip rails or overhead trapeze bars, or at least one compatible with them. If you don&#;t need equipment like this right now, it&#;s good to at least verify that the equipment you want to buy will fit in the space you intend to keep it in before purchasing. For example, an overhead trapeze bar may require more vertical space and support than you currently have in your bedroom. Be sure to measure the dimensions of the room in which your hospital bed will be kept. It may also be helpful to draw a diagram to scale to figure out where and how to install new equipment.

Before buying hospital bed equipment, talk to your doctor about your current medical state. They may have suggestions for what type of equipment may be helpful to you or the person you care for. Your vendor may also be able to help you decide what equipment may be beneficial to you.

Some Hospital Bed Accessories Can Make It Easier to Clean and Maintain a Hospital Bed Mattress

Cleaning and maintenance are part of owning any bed, but it is especially important for owners of home hospital beds. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A similar principle is true for keeping your hospital bed clean; it&#;s easier to prevent problems with a hospital bed through regular cleaning and maintenance. Some accessories can make the process easier. 

Mattress toppers and covers make it easy to clean the mattress. The more time we spend in bed, the more organic matter that our bodies naturally shed over time ends up in our mattresses and sheets, promoting the growth of bacteria and mold. Mattress toppers, pads, and covers can prevent this by absorbing these materials before they can seep into your hospital bed mattress, and they&#;re designed to be easily removed for cleaning. Table trays make it easier to have meals in bed while keeping crumbs and other food particles from dirtying your bedsheets.

Some hospital bed equipment can make it easier to clean and bathe people who are bedridden without dirtying or soaking their mattresses. Patient lifting systems like gait belts, which is a belt placed around a patient&#;s waist so caregivers can use it to pull up or balance a patient, can make it easier to lift a bedridden patient out of bed so their sheets can be changed or to clean their mattresses. Overhead trapeze bars can also be helpful, provided the patient has the physical ability to pull themselves up.

Installing Hospital Bed Equipment Is Physically Demanding

Installing a hospital bed in your home is supposed to make things easier for the people who use them, their caretakers, and their families. That said, the process of installing new hospital bed equipment can be an involved, physically taxing process that may be more difficult than you might think.

If you decide to install hospital bed equipment yourself, be sure to ask your vendor plenty of questions to make sure you have what you need before it arrives at your home, the home of your loved one, or at your care facility.

Keep in mind that the work doesn&#;t end with installation. Hospital bed equipment and accessories all require regular maintenance to ensure they function as safely and efficiently as they should. 

Consider hiring professional help. Talk to your vendor about what, if any, services they offer. It may cost more to hire professionals to install a new feature on a hospital bed, but it may save you time, stress, and even prevent physical injuries.

If you have questions and want to reach out to the mattress experts at TransferMaster, please contact us.

By offering technical assistance 24/7/365, our technical support team assists our customers in all kinds of situations.

However, some questions come up more often than others. We discussed this with our technical support team and therefore created this toolkit to help you answer some questions you may have. In any case, we invite you to contact our technical service team, even if it&#;s 2 AM. They are there to help you, whatever your question is! At the bottom of the article, find out how to properly prepare for a quick and efficient service call.

1. My bed is not moving

Is the master lock activated on the bed?

Depending on the bed you are using, your controls may be locked. Check your master lock menu to make sure you haven't locked out your controls. If you are using an ook snow MH bed without a screen, you will need the key to unlock the bed. In the following video, see how to unlock the master lock of an ook snow bed with a touch screen.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of 3 function hospital bed. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Does your bed have a removable patient control installed?

When a bed is equipped with a removable patient control, it may be incorrectly replaced by the patient and caught under the bed. In this case, the removable patient control may prevent the bed from moving. You only have to put the patient control back on the side of the bed. Simply, unplug the bed to see if it starts to move.

Your bed is still not moving? Call us.

2. My smart screen does not work

Is your power cord plugged into the bed and into the wall outlet?

Depending on the bed, double-check both ends of your power cord. Sometimes the cord is not plugged in properly at one end. Also, check that the indicator light, near the power plug pictogram on the footboard, is illuminating in green. This means that the bed is plugged in.

Could something be blocking the connection between the footboard and the bed?

Sometimes sheets or blankets may get caught between the bed frame and the footboard. You can try to remove and put the footboard back, paying particular attention that the sheets do not interfere.

Do you have a spare or additional footboard available?

Try to use another footboard. If a patient is in bed with the screen not working, this will save you from moving him. Then, you can call us so we can assist you without disturbing the patient.

3. The alarm of the bed exit detection system keeps going off

Did you do a zero before the patient arrived?

To perform a zero, refer to the video below. The patient cannot be lying in bed during a zero. In this case, you can use a previous zero if the bed is already in use by a patient.

Did you add equipment (pillow, pump, IV pole, etc.) to the bed without using the change equipment function?

When equipment is added to the bed, it adds weight. It is the weight variation that makes the alarm go off (or not go off). Be sure to use the Change Equipment function to add accessories or equipment to the bed. Refer to the previous video to see how to do it.

Is your bed armed in manual or automatic mode? Have you selected the appropriate detection level?

Make sure your settings are correct. Your bed may be armed in automatic or manual mode. The automatic mode will arm itself when the patient gets into the bed. In manual mode, the patient has to be in the bed before activating the detection.

The scale plays an important role in the proper functioning of the bed exit detection system on the bed equipped with one. The same solutions are also to be considered if your bed does not arm itself.

4. The calibration of my bed does not go through

Bed calibration might not work for the following reasons:

• The bed touches the wall. Make sure it's off the wall.
• The floor is not level. Try to move the bed in the room.
• Avoid any weight on the bed during calibration.

To see how to calibrate the bed, you can consult the user manual of the bed or consult this video.

5. What is the number of this bed part?

Do you maintain and repair your beds yourself? The best way for you to find a part number is to check the manual for the bed you need a part for. To view manuals for our beds, go to the Resources section of our website.

6. How to prepare for a call with our technical support team?

When you need to talk to us, our team will be there to answer you. To make your call efficient so you can get your bed back into service quickly, here's how to properly prepare:

• Have the serial number of the bed on hand.
• Our team will help you find out what is happening with our bed. Having as much information as possible is crucial to understand the situation.

Do you have other questions or need some help? Contact the technical support department at 1 844-409- option 4. They are available to help you at all times, no matter the hour or the day.

Are you interested in learning more about manual hospital bed supplier? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!