We know that falls can have a devastating impact on the health and well-being of older adults as well as proving costly for nursing facilities. Yet we also know that older adults are more likely to fall inside a nursing home than in the community.1 As such, the long-term care industry is always looking for the next fall prevention innovation to optimize its standard of patient care.
Since the release of the first FloorBed, it's become clear that the ultimate tool to protect against bed falls and support fall injury prevention is an ultra-low sleeping surface. More than just a medical bed with a hi-low function, FloorBeds have been clinically proven to significantly reduce the instances of falls, and the risk of bed falls with injury.
To understand the relationship between bed height and risk of injury for those many fall-risk patients, we need only turn to physics. The greater the distance the person falls, the greater the velocity and, consequently, the impact of the fall.
According to one study by Dr George Zaphir, Accora floor-level beds can reduce the force of impact by as much as 40% compared to a low bed.2 A scientific study in which fall prevention expert Dr. Patricia Quigley was involved found that the chances of sustaining a severe head injury from a low bed fall were 25%: still a significant risk.3
Furthermore, this same study found what healthcare professionals have long suspected, that a fall from standard bed height plus the height of a bed rail as if the person had climbed over it, had a 40% chance of resulting in a severe head injury when a fall mat was not in place.
In summary, the greater the distance between the person and the floor when they fall, the greater the risk of injury to that person. That's why the height-adjustable FloorBeds are so beneficial in fall injury prevention, because the deck height goes to floor level, significantly reducing the velocity of the fall and subsequent injury risk.
There are three FloorBeds in the Accora range in the United States: The original FloorBed 1, the Empresa and the Contesa. Each of them is height-adjustable and has the additional features of an electric long-term care bed, such as profiling functions for patient feeding, blood flow needs and respiratory function, but each of them has its own unique set of features and clinical benefits.
In terms of the hi-low adjustable bed market, this was revolutionary at the time of release. FloorBed 1 was, and still is, the lowest bed on the market, with a height range of 2.8 inches to 25.6 inches. In terms of an adjustable profiling bed that supports fall injury prevention, it's the standard of quality care.
For residents who require more space, the FloorBed Plus is a wider version of the FloorBed 1 that achieves a low platform height of 3.1inches. It features a width of 42 inches and, like the FloorBed 1, can be extended from 80 to 84 inches long to accommodate tall user comfort.
Contesa is a floor-level bed designed to meet the needs of fall-risk residents in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities without the cold, clinical look of traditional hi-low hospital beds. It’s a popular, budget-friendly option that helps elevate the look and feel of senior living environments while prioritizing maximum user safety.
Featuring 7 attractive head and footboard styles and 16 wood finishes, Contesa is a functional and appealing addition to any long-term care communal living facility. Just like the Empresa, this bed frame features vertical lift technology for peace of mind regarding your decor.
Pre-programmed positions include the classic auto-contour where both the headrest and the leg rest are raised simultaneously to reduce patients slipping down in the bed and causing shear. The chair-like comfort position is also built-in as a pre-programmable position.
Empresa is our most feature-rich high-low bed for senior living settings. It can be tailored and adjusted to the needs of most residents, including those up to 525 lbs, making it a viable bariatric bed that many facilities choose to eventually standardize on.
In terms of its high-low features, Empresa can boast an impressive bed height range from 3.9 inches to 31.5 inches for comfortable working heights for caregivers and safe bed frame height in case of accidental bed falls. What's more, Accora's signature BodyMove double autoregression technology means that patient shear and pressure over the high-risk sacral area is decreased. This makes it perfect for those at risk of developing skin damage or in need of managing an existing wound.
Empresa's pre-programmed positioning features and independent headrest and legrest capabilities make for infinite positioning and superior comfort. One touch of the handset can achieve pre-programmed seated positions known as care and comfort positions for those with limited mobility. With Empresa, repositioning is easy and less burdensome on caregivers and nursing staff with the help of Trendelenburg and anti-Trendelenburg functions, which leverage gravity to help reposition the resident.
In addition to all of this, the most distinctive feature of Empresa beds is the stunning, residential-looking design. With 8 head and footboard styles and no less than 15 wood finishes, Empresa is the interior designer's dream senior living bed.
There are many optional extras you can choose to complement your FloorBed from Accora.
When both fall risk and pressure management needs are present, both the bed and mattress options must be assessed for maximum user safety. The hi-low function of Accora FloorBeds means they are excellent choices for residents at risk for falling from the bed, but the Empresa also features a pressure-reducing mechanism for reduced shear and sacral pressure when profiling into a seated position.
Accora FloorBeds come in a range of sizes, but they all achieve standard hospital bed size rules for nursing beds. This means that there will be a range of comfortable mattress options that will be compatible with your FloorBed. However, Accora also offers our own static memory foam mattress with firm side bolsters and a pressure management heel slope for excellent pressure distribution, which can be purchased to fit any of our beds for maximum user safety and comfort.
Learn more about the Accora 600 mattress now.
These small hand grab bars are miles away from the forbidden bed rails and can be fixed to Accora beds within the marked safety zones. These act to enable independent transfers or support assisted transfers in and out of the bed and can greatly help residents with mobility issues and the caregivers who assist them.
We also have fold-down assist bars that can complement either the Contesa or Empresa models, as well as long assist bars.
This is one accessory that some long-term care professionals have called a “game changer” for reducing fall rates. Accora fall prevention mats are not like the fall mats you are used to. These foldable mats create a level plane between Accora beds with a mattress and the safety mat, meaning that if the resident does exit the bed, they are not "falling" because no change of plane has occurred. The mat essentially becomes an extension of the resident's sleeping surface, effectively turning potential bed falls into rolls.
There are many settings in which FloorBeds can be a beneficial fall intervention. While there is no reason why any of our FloorBeds wouldn't make a great choice for homecare purposes, the Empresa and Contesa are particularly popular choices for residential care facilities. FloorBeds are particularly useful in memory care units because of the increased risk of falls caused by unpredictable behaviors.
While all of our FloorBeds are proven solutions to manage falls, when it comes to choosing the specific model, you must ultimately consider three things: Your budget, the weight capacity you will need and any wound care requirements.
Interested in learning more about the Accora FloorBed range? Speak to one of our product experts or learn more on our website today, for amore comfortable and safer tomorrow for your residents.
Needing specialist hospital beds for particular residents is one of the biggest issues when considering standardizing beds throughout a nursing facility. Not every bed on the product market can accommodate larger individuals and what if they are at risk of falls or pressure injuries too? Then, sourcing an appropriate high-low bed becomes even more complex.
The Empresa FloorBed can cater to all three of these requirements, being suitable for residents up to 525 lbs, lowering down to a low position of just 3.9 inches and equipped with dynamic BodyMove technology to reduce shear and protect the sacral area. It really is the bed that does it all without the cold, clinical look of a hospital bari bed.
It's been proven that fall mats help to reduce impact and subsequent injuries of falls from the bed but what if you could prevent the fall in the first place? That's where Accora's high safety mat excels. Instead of just cushioning impact, it creates a level-plane surface next to the bed mattress, effectively turning bed falls into rolls, resulting in no injury and no reportable fall. Then it can fold out of the way when the resident is out of bed.
Accora beds, while adjustable in many ways, do conform to the usual hospital bed sizes in terms of the mattress deck, so many mattress options will be compatible with Accora FloorBeds. However, Accora does offer its own high-spec static foam mattress for effective pressure management, available in any size that our beds are.
1 – https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(23)00549-2/fulltext
2 - Lowest Heights of Floor Level Beds: Fall Velocity andImpact Force Analysis and Resulting Injuries, Dr. George Zaphir, (2014)
3 - https://us.accora.care/blog/10-tips-for-safer-bed-exits-in-long-term-care-with-dr-pat-quigley
4 - https://us.accora.care/case-study/implementing-the-accora-floorbed-technology-in-lutheran-nursing-home
5 - https://us.accora.care/case-study/assessing-the-incidence-of-bed-falls-and-injuries-following-the-introduction-of-the-empresa-floorbed-in-masonic-villages-long-term-care-community
