A good night sleep

Two months. Two million dollars. Two hundred new beds, over- bed tables and bedside cabinets. This was the goal of the hospital Board to replace the in- patient beds in the hospital.

“When the tower opened, new beds were purchased for our complex continuing care patients,” Chris Eivers, vice president- corporate services said. “We identified that all the inpatient units would also receive new beds but first we had to develop a business case supported by a sound financial plan.” 

Hospital beds are not the run-of-the-mill bed and mattress sets that consumers purchase for their homes. These beds are very unique with the latest design that incorporates many features and benefits.

“First and foremost the new beds are designed to enhance patient safety,” Lucy Park, senior buyer said. “The beds allow patients to be moved into a sitting position without heavy lifting by the nurses. The beds also have improved brakes, side rails, and not one, but three levels of patient monitoring: from a simple movement of a patient to the patient actually getting out of the bed- an alarm will sound. These are certainly the Cadillac of hospital beds. Patients and staff are extremely pleased when they experience these new beds. One of the features of the over- bed tables is a slip-up mirror for patients.”  

Two types of mattresses have been purchased. The majority are air mattresses that feature a static air surface for prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. This is accomplished by four air bladders in the mattress. The other mattresses are what they call dynamic air mattresses that feature a pressure redistribution system. This is accomplished by a powered air compressor within the bed- with the simple push of a button by the nurse the air in the mattress is redistributed. With the push of another button the patient can be turned on the bed, which makes it much easier for the nursing staff. These mattresses are throughout our palliative care unit and are also available for patients in the hospital for specific care needs. 

Over a period of four consecutive Thursdays in February the new beds arrived at the hospital.

“We developed a plan to deploy the beds throughout the hospital that worked quite well,” Lucy explained. “The beds arrived at the loading docks where representatives from the manufacturer worked with our staff. Our environmental service aides cleaned them up and then staff from bio-medical services and engineering attached identification numbers and entered them into our hospital tracking system. As patients were discharged the old beds were replaced with the newer models. The replacement program also included in-service training for nurses.” 

The logical question is: what happens with the old beds?

The hospital connected with an organization that distributes beds to third world countries. As well, some local agencies contacted the hospital and made arrangements to pick up some of the old beds and Guelph General Hospital called and made arrangements for 6 beds to help during the critical bed shortage they faced. As Lucy said, “I’d love to be able to give away as many of the old beds locally as possible. This is an example where ‘out with the old and in with the new’ means everyone wins!”

Gary Chalk is senior executive director- public affairs & development for the Brant Community Healthcare System. Brantford General is a regional health centre providing primary, emergency and specialized services. The Willett, Paris, is a multi- service health centre providing urgent care, primary and community outreach programs.