Hill-Rom Hospital Beds In Compliance with New FDA Guidelines

Hill-Rom, a leading global provider of health care solutions, supports and adheres to the Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment on display now at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site.

The Guidance will be officially issued March 10th and published in the Federal Registry.

All Hill-Rom beds manufactured today meet the guidelines specified by the FDA, and upgrade kits are available to help hospitals bring their older Hill-Rom beds into compliance.

Hill-Rom has been a member of the FDA's Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup since its inception. Also, the company was instrumental in helping launch the 1995 FDA Patient Safety Alert about entrapment risks and has actively evolved its own bed rail and bed designs over the succeeding years in the absence of published guidance.

"The goal is zero entrapments," said Peter Soderberg, president and CEO of Hill-Rom. "We are committed to applying our clinical expertise and our highest technology to ensure we produce the safest beds possible."

Hill-Rom cautions customers that, while beds shipped from its facilities meet the federal guidelines, patient safety from entrapments is about more than just design. Many factors, including whether the mattress and rails are damaged or worn down, can effect whether the bed is in compliance. Hospitals and long-term care facilities must constantly be aware of their patients' safety regarding entrapment.

Every health care professional should have access to information that will educate them on the risks as well as provide helpful information to assess their patients and identify the appropriate actions to minimize the risk.

Hill-Rom is available to help customers understand the FDA guidelines and what they mean for patients and facilities, and work with customers to develop strategies for ensuring that existing beds minimize the risk of entrapment.

For more information on bed safety e-mail BedSafety@Hill-Rom.com.

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Hill-Rom 1069 State Route 46 East Batesville, IN 47006-9167

Media Contact Lauren Green-Caldwell, Director Corporate Communications & Public Relations Phone: 812-934-8692 Email: lauren.green-caldwell@hillenbrand.com

Improving hospital bed safety and mitigating the risk of patient entrapment is an important issue and deserves the best efforts of medical manufacturers and healthcare professionals to identify and apply both clinical knowledge and technology to help create a safer environment for both patients and caregivers.

As a leader in the industry, Hill-Rom has been an active member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-guided Hospital Bed Safety Work Group (HBSW) since its inception, and will continue to play an active role. Throughout its history, Hill-Rom has actively sought opportunities to improve bed designs and to develop accessories and other items that may be useful to caregivers in their attempts to create safer and more efficient care environments.

This section of the Hill-Rom Web site has been dedicated as a central source for information on bed safety, helpful resources and links, and Hill-Rom’s activities and position on the various activities and guidance offered by the HBSW and other organizations in the industry.   Hill-Rom will continue to make important information available from time to time for your convenience on this Web site.

	BROCHURES	TYPE	SIZE
	New Siderail Upgrade Kit Brochure		146K
	Hill-Rom Position on the U.S. FDA's Hospital Bed System Dimensional Guidance		30K
	Who is at Risk: Identification of the Vulnerable Patient		67K
	Siderail White Paper		40K

	WEB SITES
	Draft Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff Hospital Bed System Dimensional Guidance to Reduce Entrapment
	Hospital Bed Safety
	Safety Tips for Preventing Hospital Bed Fires
	JCAHO web site
	Prevention of Falls in Hospitalized and Institutionalized Older People