Homecare Beds

A homecare bed adjusts electrically: the height rises and falls, the backrest sits you up, and the knee section lifts. It is the single piece of equipment that changes most about caring for someone at home.

What it actually changes

For the person in it. Sitting up to eat, read, take medication or simply breathe comfortably, without calling anyone. Getting the bed low enough to put feet flat on the floor and stand safely.

For whoever is helping. Height adjustment is the difference between working at waist height and bending over a low bed a dozen times a day. Carers are injured by ordinary beds far more often than by anything dramatic.

Choose on how it will be used, not the diagnosis

If the person repositions themselves, a simpler three-function bed may be plenty.

If a carer is doing the repositioning, full electric height adjustment is the feature that matters most, and it pays for itself in backs not injured.

If getting out of bed at night is the worry, a floor-line bed that drops close to the ground turns a fall from two feet into a fall from a few inches. Paired with a fall mat, it is often safer than full rails, which a confused person may climb over.

If the person is broader than average, width decides everything. See bariatric beds.

Sizes

Standard homecare beds are 36 inches wide by 80 long, which is narrower than a domestic single. Wider frames run to 38, 42, 48 and 54 inches, and some models expand from 35 to 42 inches after delivery.

Measure the room and the route into it. Doorways, hallway turns and stair corners decide what can actually be delivered, and it is better to know before the truck arrives.

What goes with the bed

A mattress sized to the frame, in foam or as a pressure care surface for anyone who cannot reposition themselves.

Rails or grab handles, which are different things: a grab handle gives something to pull on, a rail is a barrier. Both carry an entrapment risk if they do not match the mattress and frame, so they should be matched rather than bought off a shelf. See bed accessories.

Head and footboards in wood finishes, which make a bed look like furniture rather than hospital equipment. That matters more than it sounds to someone who has to accept one in their home.

Buy, rent or refurbished

Renting from $220 a month with the mattress included suits recovery and uncertain situations. For an ongoing need, a refurbished bed costs far less than renting for years and comes with a one year warranty on most equipment.

We deliver and assemble

The bed is built in the room where it will be used and tested before we leave. There is nothing for the family to put together.