Do you or someone you love need some extra help to recover from an illness? Are you or a healthcare professional aiding them in their recovery at home? If you or someone you know is in this situation, you should consider bringing a hospital bed home to assist their recovery.
Renting a Hospital bed or ownership comes with a variety of benefits and costs that we will discuss further in this article.
Should You Own a Hospital Bed?
Given the benefits and costs of owning a hospital bed, when should you buy a hospital bed for your home? There are a few questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a hospital bed:
Are you recovering from or living with an illness?
The length of your illness is an important factor to consider when choosing to rent or buy. If you can expect a swift recovery, you can save money and space by renting a hospital bed. However, if the illness you are facing is more complex, it might be best to purchase a hospital bed.
What are your or your patient’s needs?
Hospital beds are complicated pieces of equipment that you can customize to account for patients’ specific needs. However, customizing a hospital bed is also expensive. For relatively simple issues, such as needing extra support when sleeping or assisted mobility, renting a bed is optimal. If, on the other hand, your needs change frequently and require lots of technology, you should probably buy a hospital bed.
What is your living situation?
Some homes may not have the space to contain a hospital bed for long periods. This consideration is essential if you live with other family members with different needs, such as a family with young children. If your living situation cannot support a hospital bed without causing tension, you should instead rent a bed.
These are just a few of the important considerations patients, caretakers, and healthcare professionals should keep in mind when choosing between renting and buying a hospital bed.
Benefits and Costs of Owning a Hospital Bed
Given the facts we have laid out above, what are the benefits of owning a hospital bed? Alongside these benefits, what are the costs of owning a hospital bed?
The main benefits of owning a hospital bed include:
Improved Safety.
Hospital beds can be adjusted to suit your needs, making it easier to sleep in your home. If you worry about rolling out of bed while you sleep, adjust the railings to make this more difficult.
Comfort.
Good sleep is vital for a full recovery. With a hospital bed at home, you can sleep comfortably knowing that everything needed to take care of you is close. Hospital beds are also easy to adjust, making them ideal for patients with mobility issues who may otherwise struggle to find a comfortable position.
Higher Quality of Life.
If you are recovering, doing so in a hospital can be both dull and lonely. Living at home dramatically improves your quality of life as you can pursue some of your hobbies and spend time with loved ones. This is one of the main benefits of owning a hospital bed.
Savings (in the Long Run).
If you think that you will be living with a long-term illness, renting is not efficient over the long term. While renting may not cost as much in the short run, the price will start to build up. As such, if you are dealing with a long-term illness, you should buy a hospital bed instead of renting one.
Customization.
When you buy a hospital bed, you can customize it to suit all of your needs. Doing so is much more difficult when renting a hospital bed.
As you can see, there are a wide variety of benefits that come from owning a hospital bed. However, there are also several costs you should keep in mind as well, including:
High Upfront Cost.
The most prominent cost that comes with buying a hospital bed is the upfront cost. While there is a significant cost range, hospital beds can cost between 1,750 and 2,400 upfront. However, more specialized hospital beds may cost more.
Repairs.
If you own a hospital bed, you are responsible for sourcing any repairs should anything go wrong. This is not the case with a rented bed – the company you rent from deals with any repairs. If you want to avoid this kind of stress, you should avoid purchasing a bed.
In conclusion, while owning a hospital bed can be expensive initially it comes with a wide variety of benefits, including a higher quality of life and long-term savings. If you would like to know more about owning or renting a hospital bed, get in contact with our team at Mobility Direct and we will be sure to answer any of your queries.
