The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Hospital Beds

​Hospital beds for home care are a popular solution for individuals with a variety of unique needs. 

People who need extra help getting in and out of bed, folks who spend a great deal of their day in bed—they can all benefit from a hospital bed.

There is a vast variety of hospital-style beds to choose from. Which type of bed will help you or your loved one sleep and recover comfortably? Rice Village cares deeply about your recovery, and our selection of hospital beds for home use can keep you safe and supported.

If you’re shopping for a hospital bed for the home, read this ultimate guide from Rice Village. We’ll help you choose a hospital bed that meets your needs and helps you recover in the comfort of your home.

Hospital Bed Adjustment Types

There are a few types of hospital beds for home use, each with its own style of adjustment.

Manual

As the name implies, a manual hospital bed is adjusted by hand with a crank. The bed frame itself is basic but comfortable, and the bed is ideal for individuals who don’t need to adjust their position often.

Manual hospital beds are more lightweight than their electric counterparts, and they feature side railings to prevent the user from rolling or falling out of bed. Keep in mind that frequent adjustments with the hand crank can leave a caregiver feeling tired, so a manual hospital bed is best for users who don’t need to adjust their positions regularly.

Semi-Electric

With a semi-electric home hospital bed, the user or caregiver can easily adjust the head and foot sections via remote control. The height, however, must be adjusted manually with a crank.

Semi-electric options are great for folks who don’t need extra help getting in and out of bed but do need frequent head and foot adjustments. The height of the bed can remain stable, and the user can raise and lower the head and foot of the bed as often as needed.

Full Electric

A full electric hospital bed uses a remote control or buttons on the bed itself to adjust the head, foot, and height of the bed. Users can feel more independent by adjusting their own positions in bed without the need for extra assistance.

Many full electric hospital beds for home use have a lock-out feature. This prevents the user from adjusting the bed into a dangerous position that increases their risk of falls.

Specialty Hospital Beds

Do you or your loved one have unique needs that can’t be met by a standard hospital bed? There are a few types of specialty beds out there, each with its own combination of manual and electric adjustment styles.

Bariatric

Standard hospital beds, both for hospital and home care use, are designed to accommodate users up to 450 pounds. What do you do if you or your loved one require something sturdier?

The bariatric hospital beds offered by Rice Village are strong enough to support patients up to 750 pounds. The bed itself is wider, at 54 inches, so bariatric patients don’t feel unsupported.

Residential

A residential-style hospital bed combines the functionality and adjustability of a hospital bed with the feel and comfort of a regular home bed. Users can adjust the head, foot, and height of the bed for optimal comfort, and side rails help prevent falls.

If you or your loved one require a hospital bed for long-term use, a residential style could be the right option. It allows the user to feel more like they’re at home and less like they’re lying in a hospital cot.

Low Height

If the intended user of the hospital bed needs extra help getting in and out of bed, or if they are at risk of falling, consider using a bed with a lower height. Transferring into and out of the bed is much safer and more comfortable with a shorter distance between the bed and the floor.

Low beds often use electric adjustment with a remote control or buttons on the side of the bed itself. Electric adjustability allows the user to reposition the head and foot of the bed as necessary. However, different types of low beds have different levels of height adjustability, so pay attention to the height options as you shop.

Other Things To Consider

Now that you know more about the different types of home hospital beds on the market, think about the unique needs of the intended user. Before you buy or rent a hospital bed for home use, consider the following elements of your or your loved one’s care.

How Mobile Is the Intended User?

How much help does the person using this bed require to get in and out of bed? Some people who use hospital beds are fairly steady on their feet and don’t shift around much in bed. For these applications, a manual hospital bed may be the most economical and convenient option.

If the intended user of the bed requires a caregiver’s assistance for transferring in and out of bed and needs frequent adjustments, consider going electric. The remote-controlled adjustment options will allow the user to shift around with minimal assistance. Additionally, a low bed or height-adjustable bed will improve safety when getting in and out of the bed.

How Much Time Do They Spend in Bed?

Is this bed meant mostly for sleeping, or does the intended user spend the majority of their day in bed? If you or your loved one will be spending more than 15 hours per day in bed, choose an adjustment style that will help minimize bedsores.

Sores often develop on bony parts of the body that press against the mattress, like the shoulder blades and lower back. Shop for a bed that allows for electric adjustment of the head and foot of the bed to help the user change position at regular intervals.

How Big Is the Intended User?

How tall, wide, and heavy is the person who will be using this hospital bed? Many hospital beds offer shorter or longer bed lengths to accommodate users who are much shorter or taller than average.

If the person using the bed weighs more than 450 pounds, consider looking into bariatric beds that are reinforced to support heavier patients.

Are you in the process of looking for a hospital bed? While the sheer diversity of options on the market may boggle your mind, Rice Village’s ultimate guide for choosing a hospital bed demystifies the shopping process. Choose a bed with an adjustment style that fits your lifestyle and healthcare needs. And if you need a specialty bed, Rice Village has you covered.