Posted in Medical Aids on January 10th, 2010
Tags: elder care, electric bed, home care, hospital bed, medical bed, senior care

When it comes to home care, an electric medical bed makes life easier for the caregiver coping with the needs of elder care.

An electric bed at home for senior care can make a big difference for your loved one living in the comfort of their own home without requiring to live in an extended care nursing facility. 

Have the comfort and safety of a hospital medical bed right at home to minimize stress for both the caregiver and their loved one.  When your loved one is frail, an electric bed makes all the difference in the world.

When Barry had a disabling stroke in April 2000, I purchased a used home care hospital bed for approximately $1300.00.  The cost of the bed was a lot of money but my instincts told me the bed would be worth more than gold in the long run.

In addition, I also purchased the hospital bed side table allowing Barry the comfort of taking his meals in bed on the days he was too weak to leave his bed.  

This hospital bed has a hand held control to raise or lower the bed into a sitting position and to raise and lower the foot of the bed for leg circulation. The base of the bed could also be raised up and down to fit the needs of either the person using the bed or for care staff to help prevent back injury.

Included with the bed are side bars, with a release lever to easily slide in an up or down position by care staff.  The side bars are very useful to prevent the patient from falling out of bed or from wondering away from the bed. The side bars are easily removed and stored away when not required, making the bed look like a normal bed. 

From all of the medical expenses incurred from Barry’s stroke, the home care hospital bed was one of the best investments to help with Barry’s care and recommend purchasing or renting a home care medical bed for frail loved ones. The bed helps make the job of family caregiving so much easier and adds immense comfort for the person using the bed. 

When Barry first arrived home from the hospital, he could not even sit up in his wheelchair for five minutes at a time before complaining of painful exhaustion and having to return back to his bed. Barry is able to sit up in bed to eat his meals with out fear of choking, watch TV in comfort, use his urinals at night, and even have the freedom to look outside his window which helped him tremendously to become physically and emotionally stronger.  When Barry was physically immobile, the electric medical bed with all its functions helped Barry psychologically to have some control over his environment.

There was a time when Barry was feeling very weak and vulnerable, requiring the side bars to be placed on his bed as he felt very worried of falling out of bed.   A year after his stroke, Barry was physically strong enough to have the side bars of his bed removed – or so we thought, as he had on two separate occasions slid out of bed onto the floor while he was sleeping.

The triangular grab bar hanging above Barry’s bed is used for Barry to reposition himself on the bed. It would take two people; one on each side of the bed using transfer pads to reposition Barry. Once Barry regained some level of strength, Barry would help me reposition him on the bed by Barry grabbing onto the grab bar and pulling himself towards the headboard.  The grab bar is recommended as it helps frail individuals to grab onto the bar while pulling up into a sitting position.

A note of caution: we did have a few problems with home care staff making up the bed and not pushing the bed (which is on wheels) completely up against the wall. I was woken up one evening with Barry yelling for help when he slipped between the bed and the wall and became trapped. I had to place a notice on the wall, next to Barry’s bed, advising home care staff for safety reasons, the bed must be kept right up against the wall.  A few weeks later, ( possibly out of spite) one of the home care staff had slammed the bed so hard against the wall that the electrical outlet was smashed into bits, creating a fire hazard as the damaged wires were exposed against Barry’s bedding and could have caught on fire. This damage was not reported to me and only became aware of the fire hazard when vacuuming behind Barry’s bed. How long Barry was exposed to this danger, I don’t know, as home care staff had to move the bed away from the wall each day to make up Barry’s bed and should have noticed the damage and reported the fire hazard to me immediately.  As a precaution I had placed a 6 foot long 2×2 board against the wall to prevent the bed from being slammed against the electrical outlet.

Another problem that must be noted; Barry had to have his bedding tucked in around his mattress to help keep him cocooned within the bed to prevent the covers from falling off in the middle of the night, as Barry’s brain damage prevented him from being able to cope with this simple responsibility. To keep the bed covers in place at the foot of the bed, I had placed a child’s six inch air filled rubber ball at the end of the bed between the foot board and mattress. Unfortunately, a nurse came to assess Barry without my presence and tried to raise the foot of the bed; not knowing the ball would restrict the bed from moving upward and had permanently damaged the bed by burning out the motor. The nurse left (quickly) before Barry could contact me and tell me about the damage. Barry had lost the bed function to raise and lower the foot setting on his bed. I have no idea how much it would cost to have this part of the motor repaired.

So please be forewarned, a home care hospital bed is a life saver for you and your loved one, but it is an electrical and mechanical device that can be damaged by others.  When you have home care staff and nursing care staff involved in your loved one’s care, life can become chaotic creating safety and damage concerns and must always be watching for possible injuries.

Once again the home care medical side table for the bed is also a wonderful investment.  Besides the great uses while used with the bed, the table can also be used around the house by your loved one.  The table is on wheels and we would move the table outside for Barry to use while sitting in the sun enjoying lunch under the apple tree or to sit on the front porch having a tea break with me in the evenings to wind down the day.

In time, when Barry becomes very weak from kidney disease, the side bars will have to go back onto his bed to keep Barry safe. I am thankful Barry has such a wonderful home care medical bed as it has helped make our lives so much easier. I honestly believe Barry could not have lived at home these last 10 years if I did not purchase the medical bed for him. It is an expense well worth it.

SUMMARY:

ELDER CARE – Special care for elderly persons.

HOME CARE – Caring for an elderly person at home will requires additional services, and medial aids.

HOSPITAL BED – Also known as an electric bed and medical bed.

ELECTRIC BED – Also known as a hospital bed and medical bed.

MEDICAL BED – also known as a hospital bed and electric bed.

SENIOR CARE – Special care for aging persons.

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