How to Operate Hospital Bed

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I am a nurse but for the last 3 yrs have lived in and out of the hospital with my daughter after a car accident left her with a TBI. This sounds like the dumbest question but here goes.
She is currently in the ICU. We were moved to a new room 3 days ago. The bed is the same standard Hill Rom Progressa bed she’s been in for the last 4 weeks. But this bed’s air pump(?) never shuts off and it sounds like a freakin airplane in here all the time.
Every nurse has assured me it’s normal. I beg to differ. I've slept in enough hospital rooms to know the bed doesn’t stay “on” all the time.
It only cuts off if I max inflate it.
Can anyone tell me if there is a setting or something that may be keeping the motor “running” all the time? Or am I just going crazy?
Thanks in advance.

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Well if you were the nurse and a pt family asked you this would you lie to them? If multiple people say it’s normal then I’d take their word for it.

do you still work as an RN? With the pandemic running rampant in ICUs I wouldn’t make getting another new bed a priority task for the staff (since it does indeed work per the staff).

Also my whole hospital is not allowing any visitors so consider yourself very lucky that you have this privilege.

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We have those beds. It shouldn’t sound like an airplane. They do break frequently though. Don’t max inflate it too much. You are losing the low air loss for skin protection.

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Specializes in NICU/Mother-Baby/Peds/Mgmt.
55 minutes ago, LovingLife123 said:

We have those beds. It shouldn’t sound like an airplane. They do break frequently though. Don’t max inflate it too much. You are losing the low air loss for skin protection.

Maybe try calling the manufacturer on Monday and letting them hear it. Sometimes all the nurses say the same thing because they've all been taught the same thing or they hear other nurses say it without having much personal experience. I can't imagine that a really loud bed is good for a patient to hear 24/7. Good luck and take care! <Hugs>

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2 hours ago, DextersDisciple said:

Well if you were the nurse and a pt family asked you this would you lie to them? If multiple people say it’s normal then I’d take their word for it.

do you still work as an RN? With the pandemic running rampant in ICUs I wouldn’t make getting another new bed a priority task for the staff (since it does indeed work per the staff).

Also my whole hospital is not allowing any visitors so consider yourself very lucky that you have this privilege.

I prefer not to lie to anyone. I also handle all my kids toileting, eating, etc. I get along extremely well with all the staff because my kid is alive due to good nursing care. They appreciate me as well because I always try to lighten their load willingly and with no complaint.
The hospital we are in actually closed the ICU wing we were on because their wasn’t enough patients to keep it open(no elective surgeries), hence the bed/room change. I spoke with the unit manager from that wing yesterday and she had taken days off because there isn’t enough work for them right now.
Not every hospital is inundated with CV right now.
As for the extra noise, my kid hasn’t slept as well since moving to this room and I think it does have to do with the constant airplane noise.
Being as she is a neuro patient with a bilateral craniectomy and a very large wound vac attached to the dura mater of her brain, she is super-sensitive to noise and light. So yes, quieting this bed is a priority. Actually, anything to help her survive this is a priority. This hospital stay is her “Hail Mary” as her doctors call it.
As far as work, I’ve been on unpaid leave as a 24/7 caregiver for the last 3.5. years. There are no “off” days for me.

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36 minutes ago, wsilvernell said:

I prefer not to lie to anyone. I also handle all my kids toileting, eating, etc. I get along extremely well with all the staff because my kid is alive due to good nursing care. They appreciate me as well because I always try to lighten their load willingly and with no complaint.
The hospital we are in actually closed the ICU wing we were on because their wasn’t enough patients to keep it open(no elective surgeries), hence the bed/room change. I spoke with the unit manager from that wing yesterday and she had taken days off because there isn’t enough work for them right now.
Not every hospital is inundated with CV right now.
As for the extra noise, my kid hasn’t slept as well since moving to this room and I think it does have to do with the constant airplane noise.
Being as she is a neuro patient with a bilateral craniectomy and a very large wound vac attached to the dura mater of her brain, she is super-sensitive to noise and light. So yes, quieting this bed is a priority. Actually, anything to help her survive this is a priority. This hospital stay is her “Hail Mary” as her doctors call it.
As far as work, I’ve been on unpaid leave as a 24/7 caregiver for the last 3.5. years. There are no “off” days for me.

I see where you are coming from. It is very important for pts and people in general to get good quality sleep. I did not mean to come off as rude and I hope you didn’t take it that way. Your daughter is very lucky to have you. Hope you find a solution for the noise.

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3 hours ago, wsilvernell said:

I prefer not to lie to anyone. I also handle all my kids toileting, eating, etc. I get along extremely well with all the staff because my kid is alive due to good nursing care. They appreciate me as well because I always try to lighten their load willingly and with no complaint.
The hospital we are in actually closed the ICU wing we were on because their wasn’t enough patients to keep it open(no elective surgeries), hence the bed/room change. I spoke with the unit manager from that wing yesterday and she had taken days off because there isn’t enough work for them right now.
Not every hospital is inundated with CV right now.
As for the extra noise, my kid hasn’t slept as well since moving to this room and I think it does have to do with the constant airplane noise.
Being as she is a neuro patient with a bilateral craniectomy and a very large wound vac attached to the dura mater of her brain, she is super-sensitive to noise and light. So yes, quieting this bed is a priority. Actually, anything to help her survive this is a priority. This hospital stay is her “Hail Mary” as her doctors call it.
As far as work, I’ve been on unpaid leave as a 24/7 caregiver for the last 3.5. years. There are no “off” days for me.

You don't get home nursing services?

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Specializes in NICU/Mother-Baby/Peds/Mgmt.

In the meantime, will she tolerate/can she have earplugs or some cotton in her ears to help dull the sound? If they don't have anything and there's a NICU there maybe see if they have anything/suggestions?

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5 hours ago, wsilvernell said:

I prefer not to lie to anyone. I also handle all my kids toileting, eating, etc. I get along extremely well with all the staff because my kid is alive due to good nursing care. They appreciate me as well because I always try to lighten their load willingly and with no complaint.
The hospital we are in actually closed the ICU wing we were on because their wasn’t enough patients to keep it open(no elective surgeries), hence the bed/room change. I spoke with the unit manager from that wing yesterday and she had taken days off because there isn’t enough work for them right now.
Not every hospital is inundated with CV right now.
As for the extra noise, my kid hasn’t slept as well since moving to this room and I think it does have to do with the constant airplane noise.
Being as she is a neuro patient with a bilateral craniectomy and a very large wound vac attached to the dura mater of her brain, she is super-sensitive to noise and light. So yes, quieting this bed is a priority. Actually, anything to help her survive this is a priority. This hospital stay is her “Hail Mary” as her doctors call it.
As far as work, I’ve been on unpaid leave as a 24/7 caregiver for the last 3.5. years. There are no “off” days for me.

WOW!. I‘ve never in my career seen a wound vac attached to the brain. And I work in a Neuro ICU.
No, it’s not good for her to hear the noise. I’m guessing if this ICU isn’t open much, they don’t have much experience with the progressa beds. If it’s closed, isn’t there another bed in an empty bed?

I work in a large hospital and we have people on staff to take these beds and get them fixed. One of mine broke yesterday on my way to mri. The steering mechanism started making a hugely loud noise. These beds are made by HillRom and I often say they got one over on us by selling us these defective beds.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Ask the nurse Manager to have bio-med engineering or maintenance (who ever's in charge of bed maintenance) or if repair done by Hill Rom their facility rep needs to be called. Since they are closed ICU down, is there not another bed that can be switched out??? If manager not helpful, ask for Patient Representative to issue complaint/report.

Hill Rom support #: 800 445 3730 for inquiry. Hope issue gets resolved quickly. Wishing rapid healing for your daughter.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

The air pumps in the Hill Rom Progressa are actually "on" all the time with the exception of a few settings, max inflate as you noticed for instance, and yes they make a sound like a turbine spinning up. The purpose of this is that it's continuously adjusting your daughters pressure points to avoid skin breakdown. Max inflate will stop the noise once it's inflated, but that will automatically time out, as well the custom "patient comfort" firmness settings, which I would assume is intentional so that the skin protection settings aren't overridden long-term.

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