Hospital and Electric Beds: What is the difference?
Written by Christine Hsin, Occupational Therapist
If you have been looking for bed equipment that is different from your standard bed, you might have heard both the terms hospital and electric bed. While there are some similarities between these two kinds of beds, knowing the differences between them can be important to make sure that you get the one that best meets you or your loved ones needs. This blog post is dedicated to help you sort out these two unique kinds of equipment.
Electric bed
An electric bed is, not surprisingly, plugged in and receives power from an electric power source. They often can be purchased from companies that sell or manufacture beds for the general public, such as Sleep Country. Electric beds may have an adjustable foot or head function which allows these areas of the bed to be lifted or lowered. Some of the more fancy electric beds might even have a built in heat or massage function as well. Electric beds are not specially designed for medical purposes. However, sometimes people will use electric beds at home for medical conditions if the functions offered by medical beds help to meet their needs or make them more comfortable. For instance, a medical bed might make it easier for someone to sit up in bed or readjust themselves since the head or foot of the bed may be able to be raised or lowered.
Hospital Bed
Hospital beds are the kinds of beds that one might see in medical facilities. If purchased brand new, they may be sold through medical equipment vendors that sell equipment for home use. Hospital beds have foot and head adjustments available, but also must have a height adjustable component where the entire bed is able to be elevated from the floor. This height adjustment feature is useful as it can aid when transferring to or from the bed from a wheelchair or walker. It is often easier to move onto a surface that is lower with the help of gravity, so hospital beds can be lifted so that it is higher than the surface one is moving to, or lowered if one is moving from a surface onto the bed. These beds may also have other safety features including bed rails (which can provide support when getting up or prevent falling out) and brakes (to ensure the bed stays fixed when it is not being moved). In general, hospital beds have more adjustable features than electric beds and can be used for a diversity of health conditions.
It is often that hospital beds do not come with a mattress, which may need to be purchased separately. There are a variety of mattresses, including air mattresses, foam mattresses, Roho mattresses (which have special inflated air cells), and mattresses that are specially designed to relieve pressure on the body. We have a previous blog post specifically on pressure relief mattresses, which you can find here if you’re interested in learning more.
We hope that this blog helped you better understand the differences between hospital and electric beds. It is recommended that you connect with a healthcare professional regarding what kind of bed might suit your needs and your environment. An occupational therapist may be able to help you determine which kind of bed and related equipment is best for you. To get connected to an occupational therapist, you can contact your doctor, health authority, or use the OT finder available through the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, which is located on AssistList’s Partner page.
Thank you for reading to broaden your understanding of hospital and electric beds. We hope to see you next time around!
Christine
