How Beds are Typically Stored in Hospitals
One of the top causes of Joint Commission citations is empty hospital beds stored in corridors. Even if your hospital is lucky enough to have a room to store hospital beds – the situation is seldom ideal.
Finding and gaining access to a specific bed often involves climbing on and over several beds to locate the one you need. And of course once the right bed is found, you have to begin the task of clearing a path so it can be retrieved. This time consuming process leads to damaged hospital beds and exposes employees to injury.
Why Vertical Storage Racks are a Better Solution
A better solution is to stack spare or broken hospital beds in a secure vertical arrangement. Not only does this save valuable floor space, it removes a potential life safety issue from hospital corridors. Using a storage rack for hospital beds will improve the efficiency of a hospital’s maintenance department and increase the number of beds available for patient use at any given moment. 
The storage racks also have the added advantage of reducing the need for extra hospital beds, freeing up capital for other uses. (Click to read a case study on vertical storage racks used for a hospital’s facility and engineering department.)
Hospital bed stacking is based on last in – first out picking (LIFO). The first bed is pushed onto the rack then raised, opening the space underneath it for the next bed. One person can do the entire procedure by simply pushing a button.
How Can Hospitals Best Use the Vertical Storage Racks
Here is an example of how you can use the storage racks. Line one wall of a storage and maintenance space with the racks to store beds that are ready for use and on the other wall use storage racks for beds awaiting service and repair. This set-up reduces bed handling, improves inventory control, and improves cycle time to change out beds.
Contact Us for Help Storing Your Hospital Beds
Southwest Solutions Group® provides design and installation services for vertical storage racks. If you need more information on this innovative new way of storing hospital beds, please give us a call at 1-800-803-1083 or send us a message.
