Bed
Rails
I have been in the social services field
for many years. Through the years I have worked with a variety of case
loads. Presently I am working with people that have physical
disabilities that require services within their homes. My job is to
insure that people have home care as well as medical equipment to be
safe and healthy in their home environment.
One issue that seems to be of great concern for people that have
limited mobility is to be able to get up from their beds. These are
people that do not need or want a hospital bed, yet need some type of
device that will aid them from a prone position to sitting up. In
working with a medical supply company I have found that there are bed
rails available to help people sit up in bed. The bed rails are a
sturdy metal bar that is attached to a flat board. The board is slid
between the mattress and box spring of a standard bed. The weight of
the person holds the board in place and the person can grab the metal
bar to help leverage themselves up. There are a variety of bed rails
that include one bar or two that the person can grab. The bars are
bolted to the board; however there are several different bolt holes on
the board so the rail can be positioned where it will be on the
greatest help to the individual. The bar can be placed on either side
of the board so the bed rails can be on which ever side of the bed the
person needs it. There are also systems that provide bed rails on both
sides of the bed. These are used when there are concerns about a person
falling out of bed.
I purchased the bed rails system for one of my clients. The bed rails
along with a wedge pillow allowed the woman to comfortably use her
existing bed. About a week after she received her bed rails she called
to ask me if I could order another one for her. She stated that her
daughter liked the system and thought it would be helpful to have one
for her son who is switching from a crib to a bed. She thought the bed
rails would help prevent him from falling out of bed until he was used
to not sleeping in the crib. I checked with the medial supply company
and found that there are bed rails that are made specifically for this
purpose. They meet the child safety standards regarding spacing of the
rails to prevent the child’s head from getting lodged in the
bars.
I called my client back and gave her the information to order the
railing system for her grandchild.
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