For the team at Legend Oaks Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Garland, managing residents at high risk of falls meant making use of every appropriate intervention available. Low beds were already part of their approach, but there was a limitation. The X-frame underneath their existing beds meant the mattress platform could only lower so far, leaving enough distance between the resident and the floor for a bed fall to result in injury.
When the team saw the Empresa FloorBed, they immediately recognized where it could help. Its design allows the lifting mechanism to tuck further beneath the bed, enabling the mattress platform to lower right down to floor level, approximately eight inches lower than the low beds already in use.
“With our previous low beds, the X-frame sat beneath the bed deck, which meant the mattress platform could only lower so far. With the Empresa, that mechanism tucks further underneath, allowing the bed to lower right down to floor level, about eight inches lower for us.” - Martin Harris, Administrator
The team introduced the Empresa with residents considered among their highest risk of falling, particularly those with a history of rolling or falling from bed. By bringing the resident much closer to the floor, and using a fall mat alongside the bed, the aim was to reduce the potential consequences when a bed fall occurred.
Since implementing the Empresa with these residents, no injurious bed falls have occurred.
“It’s almost like you’re taking the fall away. The bed goes all the way to the floor, and then if you put a fall mat next to it, it’s almost like they’re not even falling at that point because it’s so low to the ground.” - Martin Harris, Administrator
With fall outcomes under increasing scrutiny across the industry, the Legend Oaks team sees the Empresa as another practical intervention available when supporting residents who repeatedly fall. Importantly, it allows them to reduce the risk of harm without restricting a resident’s freedom of movement.
The experience has also influenced how the facility approaches future bed replacement. As older beds reach the end of their life, the team expects to continue replacing them with Empresa FloorBeds, with the intention of making them the standard at the Garland facility.
“As our older beds wear out or need to be replaced, we’ll probably look at the Accora beds to become the new standard of what we utilize.” - Martin Harris, Administrator
