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Purchasing an adjustable hospital bed can be a great way to make it possible for your loved one to continue living at home instead of moving into a facility. The versatility of a home care bed can make it easier for nurses to properly and safely care for your family member, while keeping your loved one as comfortable as possible, regardless of whether they're sleeping or sitting.

Home Care Bed Varieties

Home-use hospital beds, also known as home care beds, universal beds, medical beds, or nursing beds, come in a few different styles that suit different users:

• Beds can have no rails, half-length rails, or full-length rails depending on the fall risk of the user.

• Bed platforms can be solid, offering strong, firm support; or spring-based, offering a softer and more flexible support.

• Electric beds can come with systems that allow the entire bed, the headrest, and/or the foot of the bed to move up and down. All medical beds sold by Island Mediquip have a pendant controller that allows for all of these adjustments.

• Beds come in different-sized footprints that may fit in larger or smaller rooms.

• Certain bed models have a number of colour options to choose from according to whatever suits your taste.

The power adjustment features of home care beds are often the most useful and the most important. Users with acid reflux can raise the head of the bed so that they are resting slightly upright, preventing the acid reflux from interrupting sleep if it acts up during the night (this position also helps with snoring!). Similarly, users who tend to collect fluids in their lower legs can raise the foot of the bed to allow for proper drainage.

Medical Bed Mattresses

Once you've selected a bed frame there are MANY types of medical bed mattresses to choose from, depending on your needs. Here are some of the most common:

Basic Foam Mattress

Foam mattresses are for users who don't tend to spend all of their time in bed, and are mobile enough to manoeuvre themselves (such as rolling over on their own). These mattresses come in different levels of firmness best suited to different weights, body shapes, and sleeping positions, so ask for some help from an expert — we can help you find one that is the most comfortable for you.

Low Air Loss Mattress

Low air loss mattresses are for users who either find foam mattresses too hot, or are in danger of developing bed sores. A low air loss mattress is an air mattress that continuously circulates the air in its body, keeping temperatures low. The amount of air in the mattress can be adjusted in order to provide different levels of support.

Alternating Low Air Loss Mattress

Like the name suggests, alternating low air loss mattresses are very similar to regular low air loss mattress: they are both air mattresses that circulate the air inside of them. But while standard low air loss mattresses have one large open-air space, alternating low air loss mattresses have pockets. These pockets can deflate or inflate individually, relieving pressure on specific areas of the body. This both allows existing bedsores to heal, and prevents new ones from occurring.

ROHO Mattress

ROHO mattresses, like standard low air loss mattresses, will help prevent bedsores from developing (but aren't ideal at helping existing bedsores heal). ROHO mattresses are also air mattresses that allow you adjust the amount of air for different levels of support, but they do not circulate the air internally. Because of this, they don't have the same cooling effect as low air loss mattresses.

All in all, choosing a home care bed can be a complicated process, so feel free to ask our staff if you have any questions. We're happy to help!