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HMHP buys new beds for units in 3 hospitals
TweetThe main purpose of the new beds is patient comfort and safety, hospital officials said.
YOUNGSTOWN — Humility of Mary Health Partners has spent $7.5 million for new beds for medical/surgical and intensive care units in its three hospitals in Youngstown, Warren and Boardman.
HMHP operates St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, St. Joseph Health Center in Warren, and St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center.
The hospital system purchased 460 new medical/surgical beds and 80 new ICU beds and updated a number of other ICU beds with new beds that are in use in the hospitals, said Rod Neill, director of physician services.
The main purpose of the new beds is patient comfort and safety, particularly in ICU, where patients are more vulnerable to bed sores and pneumonia if they have pulmonary problems, Neill said.
Bed sores (pressure ulcers) and skin breakdown are a major focus of the federal Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services. This initiative enables HMHP to address that emphasis, Neill said.
The beds, manufactured by Hill-Rom, also make it easier for caregivers to move patients and to get them up, he said.
Models of the beds were on display at St. Elizabeth’s on Tuesday. The bed mechanically tilts the mattress to help hospital personnel in turning patients for treatment or to prevent pressure ulcers and becomes a chair and lowers to make it easier to get a patient sitting or standing.
The ICU beds, which cost about $45,000 each, have features such as thicker mattresses, which minimize moisture and percussion capability, and built-in continuous lateral rotation therapy, which helps prevent pneumonia, said a Hill-Rom spokeswoman.
The bed monitors patients and can electronically signal caregivers if patients try to get out of bed, or if a patient’s head angle falls below 30 degrees, the optimal angle to safeguard against ventilator-associated pneumonia, officials said.
Other features include air mattresses that automatically redistribute pressure to reduce pain and help prevent pressure ulcers and built-in scales that eliminate having to move the patient for weight measurement, Neill said.
alcorn@vindy.com
Comments
This sounds GREAT~~ really is not thou!
This will allow an elderly patient during their hospital stay to BECOME more WEAKER due to MORE LACK of MOVEMENT than in the past. A elderly person must still be moved OUT OF BED / WALKING to keep their muscles toned & moving within THEIR means. As it has been, a catheter is slapped on immediately & (politely said) a diaper put on also ~~ so as not to have to move them for bathroom necessity & only to become weaker than when they were admitted to the hospital. Now, with this kind of bed, they will not even be "moved" to a chair ~~ so-o-o when being released from the hospital, the elderly will now have to go to THERAPY (either out-patient & or IN-STAY Facility) for 7-8 weeks instead of 3-4 weeks just to get them back to their strength BEFORE the hospital stay!
Do not get me wrong ~~ this bed can be of value to many patients who REALLY NEED this. However, with my past experience of my mother & each hospital stay, she ALWAYS was much weaker when leaving & had to have therapy to strengthen her AGAIN. Only because the BED became her home & no-one wanted to move her! Geez~~ I cannot imagine how it is going to be with this NEW BED!!!
ICU means Intensive Care Unit. These are patients hooked up to all kinds of machinery. They aren't getting up to go to the bathroom or anywhere else! Maybe that's why they need high tech beds.
~Yes that is true~~ however~~ "some" patients do get well enough (less wires/hookups) & SHOULD BE "moved" while waiting for a room opening onto another floor~~ this PRECEDURE then still trickles down when on another floor ~~ losing VALUABLE days of NON MOVEMENT ~~ leading to a
DIS-CHARGE where that PATIENT has to have
THERAPY" to get back the strength they HAD before the hospital stay!
~~ it is a shame how the elderly are treated when in for a hospital stay ~~ their MUSCLES "CANNOT" afford to become dormant & lose tone. This only causes other health problems also.
~~ Out-patient & in-stay facilities for therapy are a norm in hospital dis-charge vocabulary!
~~ this bed can be of value at first ~~ but gosh~~ once Drs. give the ok to have patient transfered to chair/ potty, etc. ~~ WHY is this NOT being done ~~
~~ELDERLY does NOT always mean "in-active" for some!
~~~ I dealt with this many times & not just with the scenerio w/ my mother but with other elderly friends as well!!
PEACE2U, do you even work in the healthcare field?