New Bariatric Bed Offers Unprecedented Benefits

A new bariatric version of a patient bed addresses a wide variety of care, treatment, and safety issues for patients weighing up to 450 kilograms.

The Total Lift Bariatric Bed (TLBB) is designed for hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, as well as long term acute care hospitals and in-home use. It brings enhanced mobility and a new level of care, dignity, and safety to positioning the obese and morbidly obese, raising a patient from a lying to a fully standing position or various chair positions at the press of a button. The TLBB allows the patient, when raised to the fully standing position, to simply step out of bed with maximum safety and dignity, and without risk of injury to caregivers. The home version of the TLBB allows the user or an at-home caregiver to operate all bed functions with equal ease.

The TLBB is designed to expand from a width of 91 to 121 centimeters and from a length of 200 to 220 centimeters. Optional built-in powered and nonpowered support surfaces, including alternating or rotating low air-loss mattresses that fit the full, extended size of the TLBB are available. The push of a button on the remote control initiates the tilting function, allowing the patient to go from a lying to a fully standing position. First, a foot lifter moves towards the feet of the patient; once it makes contact with the feet, the bed starts tilting, thus preventing any danger of sliding in bed. While the TLBB tilts, the foot lifter gradually moves down so when the bed is in the fully standing position, the patient can then simply walk out of the bed.

The TLBB also features an additional scale integrated into the foot lifter that continuously shows the amount of pressure imposed on the feet and legs as the patient is tilted. This weight-bearing control allows caregivers to raise patients, incrementally and progressively, based on their ability to bear their own weight. In addition to being safer, this new tool gives physicians and therapists the ability to develop individualized, optimal therapy programs. Supported chair positioning allows the back and legs of the TLBB to be positioned independently for optimal individual comfort. The TLBB, a product of VitalGo (New Hyde Park, NY, USA), also offers optional comfort straps to provide added safety in various positions, as well as assistance for certain therapies.

"The TLBB is perfect for medical applications, including mobility therapy, postorthopedic surgery care, and physical therapy, but it also meets the day-to-day challenges of the obese, morbidly obese and their caregivers," said Jarett Armstrong, VitalGo vice president of sales. "We feel there is no question that the TLBB is the best solution for bariatric mobility, safe patient handling, and safe lifting."

For the obese and morbidly obese, the most basic daily tasks can be extremely difficult. Their weight affects breathing and tolerance to movement, as well as the risk of falling and sustaining injury. Furthermore, they are at higher risk of a wide range of health problems including cardiovascular disease, respiratory failure, incontinence, and pressure ulcers, to name but a few. Caregivers and family members are also faced with unique challenges, including special training and equipment required to assist in mobility and positioning.

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