Critical Care Beds: Providing Needed Support for ICU Patients
August 1, 2010 | Evaluations & Guidance
Preview
Beds are an integral part of the therapy and care of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Thanks to recent technological advances, features have been added to critical care beds that help caregivers perform their tasks, and that are focused on improving patient and staff safety. Hospitals must determine which of these features they need on their beds, and which beds offer the best features.
This Evaluation focuses specifically on critical care patient beds that are intended to be used in the ICU. These beds are also sometimes used in step-down units. We did not evaluate beds that are designed to be used in other areas of the hospital such as general patient floors and maternity.
We provide ratings and purchasing recommendations for the following beds:
We also examined the KCI TriaDyne Proventa, which is primarily obtained as a rental. Our judgments about it as a rental bed can be found in the section titled “A Rental Option: KCI TriaDyne Proventa”.