Bed Rail Safety & Product Recalls

Was your bed handle recently recalled? After a recent report of three women dying as a result of getting trapped between their mattress and their bed handles, on May 20, 2014 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Bed Handles Inc. announced the voluntary recall of an estimated 113,000 adult portable bed handles. Sold to consumers nationwide between the years of 1994 and 2007, the voluntary recall includes three Bed Handles Inc. product models – the Original Bedside Assistant (item #BA10W), the Travel Handles (item #BA11W), and the Adjustable Bedside Assistant (item #AJ1).   The issue is that when the handles are attached to a bed without the use of safety retention straps (which were not sold with these products) the handle isn’t secured in place and can end up moving around and creating a large gap between the bed handle and the mattress, posing a deadly risk of entrapment, strangulation, and death. Those who already have these recalled bed handles in their homes/facilities should stop using them immediately and uninstall them.   Bed rails/handles provide many benefits for patients. In addition to preventing patients from falling out of the bed, using a bed rail makes it easier for patients to get in/out of the bed and helps patients to re-position themselves in the bed. Bed rails are great for providing a little extra balance and stability assistance while standing at the bedside. Bed handles/rails should only be used if they can be secured to the bed frame, ensuring the utmost in patient safety by preventing gaps from forming between the handles and mattress, which significantly helps eliminate the risks for deadly entrapment and suffocation.   Here at Mountainside Medical Equipment we are dedicated to providing our consumers with safe and effective products to help improve their quality of life. We offer a variety of bed rail products that can be used with most types of beds with metal bed frames and come with varying features (choose from full-length or half-length rails, rails with different sized gaps in-between their bars, rails with different heights, some that raise and lower, some that telescope with the beds movements, some that have storage pockets, and some that are even padded), all of which are designed to improve patient safety and help prevent falls.   Sources: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/Adult-Portable-Bed-Handles-Recalled-by-Bed-Handles-Inc/