Modern home hospital beds are high-tech marvels engineered to provide comfort, safety, and independence to people with a wide range of conditions. If you’re asking yourself whether you or a loved one are ready for a home hospital bed, you’re in the right place.
In this article, we discuss five reasons a premium home hospital bed may be the right choice for you.
You need better positioning and bed adjustment options
Standard consumer beds are designed to do one thing well. They provide a flat surface to support your body while you are lying down. Home hospital beds, in contrast, are much more flexible. The bed’s surface profile adapts to your needs, whether that’s as simple as slightly elevating the upper body or as complex as a Cardiac Chair.
People with many different medical conditions and injuries benefit from the ability to adjust the bed’s surface profile, including long-term conditions such as ARDS, sleep apnea, back injury, cardiac and circulatory disorders, respiratory conditions, and more.
You need help to sit up, lie down, or get in and out of bed
Modern home hospital beds like the Supernal 5 feature motorized adjustments with an intuitive remote control. They allow you to, for example, gently raise the bed’s head from a lying to a sitting position at the touch of a button. If mobility issues mean you struggle to sit up or lie down, motorized adjustments make a huge difference to your independence and quality of life.
Many premium home hospital beds also feature motorized height adjustments that can raise or lower the bed’s surface relative to the floor, making it much easier to get into and out of bed despite the challenges of pain, limited mobility, and coordination. Because you can adjust the bed’s height, it fits a wide range of individuals and circumstances, unlike fixed height low-profile beds, which are much less flexible.
You would like to stay in your own home
A key benefit of home hospital beds is that they provide help and support that would otherwise only be available in a hospital or care facility. If your condition means you need physical support, treatment, or therapy, the availability of an adjustable bed may make the difference between staying in your own home or moving to a suitably equipped facility.
The best home hospital beds are engineered to provide all the features of a professional hospital bed. However, they are adapted to fit in the home and blend in with domestic decor. They help people with mobility, strength, or cognitive impairments to safely remain in their preferred environment for longer.
You use a wheelchair
Wheelchair transfers can be risky, often resulting in dangerous slips and falls, especially for elderly patients. Hospital beds are designed to make transfers safer and less stressful. We have already mentioned adjustable height beds, which can lower the bed’s surface to the height of the wheelchair’s seat, significantly reducing the effort needed to move from chair to bed.
Other features that help with transfers include bed rails and mattresses with stiffened edges. Bed rails provide additional support and stability during transfers. Home hospital bed mattresses with stiffened edges—often referred to as border edge protection—provide extra support and facilitate the use of transfer boards.
You are bedbound
People who are forced by injury or illness to spend much of the day in bed often develop health problems that include bedsores, muscle waste, contractures, and other long-term effects of immobility. Home hospital beds help bedbound patients and caregivers to manage the risks and mitigate the impact.
As we’ve seen, home hospital beds make it easier to get into and out of bed, both independently and with a caregiver’s help. Their head, foot, and height adjustments empower people who would otherwise be bedbound or entirely reliant on a caregiver’s help.
Bedsores develop when pressure and shear forces compromise blood flow for extended periods, damaging skin and the underlying tissue. Bedsores quickly progress into life-threatening injuries if left untreated. The best way to avoid bedsores is to frequently change positions, something that is far easier with a home hospital bed’s adjustments.
Additionally, mattresses designed for home hospital beds distribute pressure more effectively than consumer mattresses. They don’t completely remove bedsore risk, but they can help to combat bedsore formation as part of a comprehensive care routine. Home hospital beds with pressure-relief mattresses are widely used by patients who are at particular risk of bedsores or who already have them.
At Transfer Master, we design and manufacturer home hospital beds that help people to sleep comfortably, receive treatment, maintain their independence, and work with caregivers in their own homes. To learn more, contact one of our advisors today.
