Hospital Beds – What You Need To Know Before You Get Yours!

Joerns 530 Hospital Bed Package

The Home Care Need is Growing

When a patient needs care, there are several options available. Hospital Care is the most comprehensive and the most expensive, a Skilled Nursing Facility is less expensive can handle most medical needs short of surgery, and Home Care can be the least expensive but usually requires more work from a relative who is the primary caregiver. If you choose to care for your family in your home, a Hospital Bed could be one of the most valuable investments you can make.

The Skilled Nursing Facility population has been decreasing since it’s peak in the mid 90’s. People are getting healthier. When they are sick, they are cared for in the home more often than they were in the past. The 2004 Caregiving in the U.S. survey, sponsored by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP, documented the prevalence of caregiving in the US. The study found that more than one in five US households are informal caregivers for a person older than age 18. The typical caregiver is a 46 year old woman with at least some college experience who provides more than 20 hours of care each week to her mother.

At Vitality Medical, we have helped hundreds of people select the right Hospital Bed.

Why Buy Instead of Rent?

There are several places where one may rent a Hospital Patient Bed. They may fulfill your needs if those needs include a brief 1-2 month rental. But for the long term, you may be money ahead in purchasing a new Patient Bed. When you buy, instead of rent, there are several advantages. Here are four:

1. Your bed is new.
2. You own an asset that is resalable.
3. You save money in the long run versus renting.
4. You get the features you want instead of just what is available.

It’s New– Although a rental agency would probably repair any breakdowns in the motors or some other part, the likelihood of a new bed breaking down is significantly less than a used rental Hospital Bed. And no repairs means no inconvenience. The new beds have their full warranties available and new technologies applied to increase their durability. If you find yourself stuck in a rental bed, because of your insurance or for some other reason, do yourself a favor and at least buy a clean new mattress for the bed.

You Own– The Hospital Bed is a commodity in increasing demand. The number of people in a nursing home type of care facility is decreasing and has been since it’s peak in the mid 90’s. There are approximately 7.6 million individuals currently receiving care from 83,000 providers because of acute illness, long-term health conditions, permanent disability, or terminal illness. Once you don’t need it, most people can quickly and easily sell their hospital bed using an online service like craigslist.

You Save– Based on the places I called while researching this blog, the initial month’s Hospital Bed rent is between $225 and $350. The first month includes the set-up. The ongoing monthly rental is $200-$300. The last month’s rental is more to allow for pick-up, also between $225-$350. Since Vitality Medical does not rent hospital beds, we can estimate a year’s worth of bed rental at the high end-$3700. Or, if you are lucky, on the low end you can rent for $2450-ouch! The Invacare Semi Electric Hospital Bed Value Package with Innerspring Mattress is only $667.84 (on 9/22/2008); so the savings with a basic bed is obvious.

You Get– As our population ages rental Hospital Beds become more and more scarce. In researching the blog, one of the places I called in Arizona gave me pricing and told me they were out of Hospital Beds through the end of the year. So the other big advantage of buying over renting is a) actually getting a bed when you want it, b) you get all the features you want, and only the features you want.

Graham Field Whisperlite II Semi-Electric Hospital Bed

And speaking of Hospital Bed features, there are several different Hospital Bed configurations and options to choose from. In next weeks blog, I will highlight the different features to consider when choosing a hospital bed for your home.

For 8 years, at Vitality Medical, we have delivered on our promise to sell top quality medical supplies at some of the best prices on the Web.