Ms. Barker only wishes staff had alerted her about the balky bed
because her 5-OR surgical department was down a bed for 2 weeks
until the refurbished replacement arrived. Of the 7-year-old bed that
was literally on its last leg, Ms. Barker says: "It didn't owe me a dime."
Buying an OR bed ranks as one of your most important purchasing
decisions, one you can't afford to get wrong, because you're going to
live with your costly mistake for years to come. "When you purchase a
table, you want to make the right decision to last a long time," says
Tracy Fuchs, RN, CNOR, director of surgical services at Aspirus
Medford (Wis.) Hospital and Clinics. "When I look at a table, it should
grow with technology as it advances."
Via an online poll, we asked 22 surgical facility leaders who'd pur-
chased a new or refurbished OR bed in the last 2 years which features
matter most to them. Most important features, in order, are: price, ver-
satility (can use for many types of procedures), ease of use with C-
arm, padding, degree of articulation, ability to rise high and go low,
weight capacity, compatibility with existing accessories, and reputa-
tion for durability and reliability.
Ms. Fuchs says support from vendor reps is invaluable both during
and after the purchase. Not only did her rep let her surgeons trial the
table they were considering for 30 days, but also he came to the hos-
pital for support during the trial and has been supportive after the pur-
chase, says Ms. Fuchs.
Harriet Willoughby, BSN, administrator and CEO of Gadsden (Ala.)
Surgery Center, likes the slide feature on her table that lets her ENT
docs who sit with their knees under the table move the base out of
their way. Another respondent likes that her table top slides in either
direction so that the surgeon and nursing staff can stand comfortably
and use the foot control to Bovie and to drill.
Michael Holder, MHA, business manager for surgical services at
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