Beds – Attachment or accessory
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-26
2004-04-27
Luu, Teri Pham (Department: 3673)
Beds
Attachment or accessory
C005S503100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06725483
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method to facilitate upgrading of a standard, general care hospital room to a critical room. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for providing seamless critical care services to a patient in a hospital room and during transport of the patient within the hospital.
Recent trends have caused cost reducing pressures on hospitals. These cost pressures have driven traditional in-patient services to less expensive out-patient and home care settings. Therefore, hospitals tend to have smaller in-patient populations. Future in-patient populations are likely to be older and sicker patients with multiple complications. The population of intermediate care patients is also likely to increase while the med-surg hospital population is decreasing over time. Therefore, the in-patient hospital population has a higher level of acuity.
Hospitals will likely have fewer beds in the future. Reconstruction of hospital rooms for critical care services is very expensive. Typically, existing structures must be torn out and rebuilt with critical care capabilities.
It is known to provide a pivoting power column built within the room to provide life support services for critical care patients. These pivoting power columns, however, are not transportable and must be built within the particular hospital room. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,398,359; 5,377,371; 5,284,255; 5,186,337; and 5,072,906.
Several problems face hospital administrators and planners. Facilities within inflexible architectural systems restrict the ability of institutions to upgrade services quickly and inexpensively. In addition, the process of transporting critical care patients creates adverse conditions and risks for staff and patients due to the inability to easily move and maintain power for the ventilator and/or IV pumps and transport monitor.
In order to adapt to changes for fewer but more acute patients, hospitals need the option for more responsive architectural systems and patient rooms that can be upgraded to critical care or downgraded to med-surg quickly and inexpensively. In order to accomplish these needs and to reduce the number of staff and time required to transport a critical care patient, hospitals need a mobile equipment system that can support and provide power, medical gases, and a communication interface to a ventilator, IV pumps and/or a patient monitor. The system must consume minimum space within a patient room, be able to fit substantially within the footprint of the patient bed during transport, and organize and manage lines connected to the patient.
The apparatus of the present invention provides a mobile care cart which mates with an architectural headwall or pivoting power column that allows a hospital to create a “general care” patient room that can be upgraded quickly and efficiently to a critical care room “upon demand” without remodeling the room. The apparatus of the present invention allows a general care “flexible” headwall or pivoting power column with services that can be upgraded or downgraded easily. In addition, the care cart supports critical care devices such as the ventilator, pumps, etc. at the bedside. The care cart can be coupled to the patient bed for manually transporting the patient. During the transport the mobile care cart provides uninterrupted power for critical care devices.
The care cart provides a platform for mounting primary critical care equipment. A ventilator is mounted on a movable, power assisted and adjustable shelf so that the ventilator can be positioned in an elevated position when the mobile care cart is used in the hospital room. When it is desired to transport the critically ill patient within the hospital, the mobile care cart is disconnected from the headwall or power column and connected to an end of the patient's hospital bed. An on-board power supply on the care cart supports the ventilator during transport. Pivoting IV poles on the care cart can swing into a nested position adjacent the bed for transport. During transport, the equipment shelf is lowered to a position below the bed.
While the critical care patient remains in the hospital room, the mobile care cart integrates with and is nested with the headwall or power column. The care cart is connected to the main power supply of the room and the ventilator is connected to oxygen or air supplies in the headwall or power column in a conventional manner.
The mobile care cart of the present invention includes a base, a patient treating apparatus on the cart and a handle. The handle on the cart is pivotally coupled to pivot between a stored position and extended position. The handle is U-shaped and pivotally connected at its ends. Preferably, the handle includes extensions extending from the end of the U-shape and transverse to the plane of the U. The extension is pivotally mounted to the handle to the cart. The cart includes a recess in which the handle lies in the stored position. A stop connects the handle to the cart and limits the extended position. The stop, preferably, is a bracket having a first elongated slide and a pin riding in the slot. The bracket includes a second slot extending transverse to the first slot in which the pin rides to latch the handle in the extended position. This bracket is considered a second latch. A tab extends from the bracket to facilitate lifting of the bracket to move the pin from a second slot to the first slot for releasing the second latch.
A mobile cart according to the present invention has a base with wheels. At least one leg is pivotally mounted adjacent at one of its ends to the base and one of the wheels is mounted on the leg adjacent the second end of the leg. A driver coupled to the arm maintains the leg, in a first position. A spring biases the leg to the first position. The leg includes a shaft pivotally mounted to the base and the driver is coupled to the shaft. The driver is in the housing of the base. Preferably, the pivotal leg with the driver are provided as a pair of back legs adjacent the back of the base. A pair of front legs are fixedly mounted adjacent the front of the base at a first end and have wheels mounted at the second end of the front legs.
While the first position of the back extends backwards from the back of the base, the second position is substantially coplanar with the back of the base. The coplanar position allows the back of the base to be as close as possible to an object in the room or elevator in which the bed is located, for example, the wall. It also increases the stability of the cart when it is not connected to the bed so as to meet the requirements that will not turn over at 10° of tilt. In the first position where the back legs are not coplanar to the base, they decrease the transverse profile of the cart when attached to the bed. This is not detrimental since the bed has stability against the 10° tilt and also allows the cart and combination of the bed to get through doorways and into elevators.
The mobile cart of the present invention can be part of a power column which has electrical outlets, fluid ports and other patient treating accessories. The power column would have upper and lower separable sections. An arm would mount the upper section to the room. The lower section would be the mobile care cart which would include wheels and patient treating accessories on the lower section. The lower section of the mobile cart would provide patient treatment when the bed and the lower section are moved relative to the upper section. The upper section would include a recess in which a portion of the lower section would nest. Also, the lower section includes a recess for a portion of the upper section to nest. The lower section would move with the upper section independent of the bed when the lower section is not coupled to the bed by a latch. A second latch, or a press fit would connect the upper and lower section of the power column. The first and second sections separate when the lower s
Catton Edward W.
Gallant Dennis J.
Gray John C.
Ruehl John W.
Barnes & Thornburg
Conley Fredrick
Hill-Rom Services Inc.
Luu Teri Pham
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