For Nurses
LifeBed helps nurses save lives and provide safe, patient-centered care
In concert with Joint Commission Goal 16, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has developed one of the most innovative strategies in healthcare, called “Transforming Care at the Bedside”. This initiative focuses on improving the delivery of care in medical/surgical units. One of this program’s essential elements is strengthening the link between effective nursing care and better clinical outcomes. The goal is to reduce adverse events and unanticipated deaths.
The LifeBed™ Patient Vigilance System helps nurses to deliver safer, more reliable care, as it provides continuous observation of all patients on a unit. If a patient’s condition begins to change, the LifeBed system will alert the nurse and bring him/her to the bedside so the nurse can effectively intervene, potentially reducing any adverse events and improving the patient’s outcome.
Because nurses can’t be everywhere
Finding the time for quality bedside care is becoming more complex and stressful. The med/surg nurse must frequently manage the care of four or five acutely ill or post-op patients. Oftentimes, a nurse can be caring for one patient when another unexpectedly deteriorates. Because the LifeBed system provides continuous vigilance to every patient on the med/surg unit, the nurse can rest assured that the LifeBed system will alert when there is a potential problem, thus providing peace of mind to nurses on a busy unit.
The LifeBed system is a tool med/surg nurses can use for patients who may unknowingly be at-risk for adverse events. Sensors in the LifeBed coverlet detect changes in heart and respiratory rates and convey this data to the LifeBed display mounted on the bed or wall. When rates go outside of selected parameters, it sends alerts through the existing nurse call system to bring the nurse to the bedside as quickly as possible.
LifeBed system helps nurses to call RRT earlier
Wouldn’t it be great if a Rapid Response Team (RRT) was called to the bedside well before a patient’s condition becomes critical…or even worse? Because the LifeBed system continuously measures heart and respiration rates, it can alert the nurse to assess the patient as soon as the patient’s condition starts to change. If an intervention is needed, the nurse can make an early call to the RRT greatly increasing the likelihood for better patient outcomes and more lives saved.
The LifeBed system is easy to use
Operation of the LifeBed system is easy for the med/surg nurse. There is no need to connect the patient to any electrodes, cuffs, canulas or sensors. The patient simply lies on the bed and the coverlet sensors automatically detect the patient’s heart and respiratory rates, even through bed sheets and the patient’s clothing.
If the system detects that either of these rates are outside of the preset parameters, it alerts through the familiar nurse call system.
LifeBed system helps the morale of your nursing team
There is nothing worse for a nurse than to walk into a seeming healthy patient’s room for a scheduled assessment only to find them unresponsive. Even though they may be the accepted standard of care in most med/surg wards, periodic nurse visits cannot always detect when a patient is in trouble. By checking on the patient while the nurse is away, the LifeBed system helps nurses save lives… nothing boosts morale more.
A better bed exit system
HealthGrades reports that among the greatest patient safety risks is post-operative hip fracture due to falls. In fact, many hospital injuries and subsequent mortalities are associated with patient falls. Patients who are neurologically deficient, or disoriented from post-op pain medication require a system to prevent them leaving their beds. To discourage these bed exits, the LifeBed system can be set to call the nurse and to play a pre-recorded “please return to bed” message to the patient. This feature even allows friends or family members to record a personalized message for the patient in any language.
Patients praise hospitals that use the LifeBed system
Patients and family members who are aware of the system love the idea of continuous vigilance that the LifeBed system provides. From their point of view, it provides reassurance that the hospital and nursing staff are actively concerned about patient safety and quality care.