Going above and beyond, Jacinthe Dubois-Webster organized a trial for patients and staff to assess two mattresses for the new hospital
Choosing the right hospital bed mattress can make or break the patient experience.
That’s why West Park staff member, Jacinthe Dubois-Webster, took it upon herself to spearhead a three-day trial whereby staff and patients were able to sit, lay and maneuver between two very different Hill-Rom mattresses in an effort to decide which one to purchase for the new hospital.
As the Clinical Practice Leader for Occupational Therapy, Dubois-Webster understands the different features hospital mattresses can offer and the negative impacts an inadequate mattress can have on patients.
“We have such a diverse population, from fairly mobile patients, to patients with reduced mobility who may be at higher risk for falls or for developing pressure injuries, and everything in between,” says Dubois-Webster, who has become an advocate for better patient mattresses at West Park over the years. “It’s so important we make the right decision when purchasing the mattresses that we had to get input from patients and clinicians.”
While patient comfort is paramount, there are other important factors to consider when choosing a mattress including safety, support, pressure relief, fall prevention and infection control. The questionnaire asked participants to evaluate the comfort level when lying down, sitting on the edge and in various positions, bed mobility, and ease of transferring on and off.
Forty-three staff members and 12 patients dropped-by the auditorium to demo the mattresses. Participants spent anywhere between five to 30 minutes trialing the products. One sentiment was clear among everyone – they were happy to have the opportunity to make the new hospital a better place for future patients.
Now we have to analyze the information based on the scores, and which units or types of patients preferred what mattress, so we can make an informed choice,” says Dubois-Webster. “We’ll likely end up with a mix of the two mattresses, to which we’ll need to figure out the right ratio for each.”
Video
Watch Jacinthe give a run-down on the features of the mattresses: