University Hospital adding 230 new high-tech patient beds

By Casandra Andrews
candrews@health.southalabama.edu

With a goal of continuously improving patient safety, USA Health University Hospital recently upgraded its beds, a place where patients spend much of their time while hospitalized.

On May 20, the first shipment of new beds was delivered to the level I trauma center. In total, there will be 230 beds — 53 for intensive care units and 177 for patients in medical and surgical units.

The first bed was delivered to a patient in intensive care who suffered life-threatening injuries during an accident a week prior. She patted the mattress and said she was grateful the high-tech bed allowed her to get a good night’s rest.

“All of the mattresses are state-of-the-art and very comfortable,” said Sherry Fryman, RN, M.S.H.A., chief nursing officer for University Hospital. “The patients seem to love the new beds.”

The intensive care unit beds, Fryman said, feature mattresses with a built-in low air loss pump. Manufactured by Stryker, the ICU beds include a feature known as turn assist for critical patients, which helps to prevent skin breakdown that can lead to more severe hospital-acquired injuries.

Research shows that as many as one million patients in the United States experience a fall while in the hospital each year. The Stryker bed series was designed to help reduce in-hospital patient falls at all acuity levels and improve nurse workflow efficiencies and safety.

To provide greater flexibility for taller patients, the new University Hospital beds have an integrated extender, which allows the bed to stretch nearly 12 inches in length. Each bed also comes with a USB port and holder to allow patients to charge and store personal electronic devices.

Some of the beds no longer in use at University Hospital have been donated to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department to be utilized by patients at its facility.