How to stop visitors from using empty bed???

[AJPV]

We have a number of semi-private rooms. It isn't uncommon for us to have one bed occupied with the other bed empty (awaiting a possible second patient). I can't believe how common it is for family/friends of a patient to think the second bed is there for their comfort and convenience! We have tried everything - putting the bed in the highest position, electronically locking it there, unplugging the bed from the wall outlet, placing a little card on the overhead table explaining that the bed must remain unused & clean for other patients. I'll come walking into the room and family/friends have climbed in the bed or set it up as their personal office with their laptop, and they will eat food in the bed showering it with a generous helping of potato chip crumbs. Seriously??? Any creative ideas on how to deter this?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

you just have to educate the people who are visiting. if you were not a nurse, you probably would think that it is alright to sit on the bed, especially if there are no chairs around. everyone has to remember what it was like before you were a nurse. you have to think about the patients family and not be so critical of them.

before thinking about the patient's family, you have to think about the actual patient. both the patient you have in the bed already, and the patient you anticipate coming from or or er. the patient who is coming deserves a clean, untouched bed. and i cannot believe that anyone, nurse or not, is so ignorant they really cannot grasp that an empty patient bed is meant for a patient. self center, self involved and selfish, but not that ignorant.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

if the family doesn't get it, and keeps trying to take your empty bed, how about moving your most confused pt to the empty bed? the one that calls out the most?

kidding :)

that's a fabulous idea! kills two birds with one stone, too. how many family members would want to stay overnight with grandma while someone else's grandma in the next bed is trying to strip naked and scream all night?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

if it is an issue in a particular room, can you just remove the second bed and place it in your clean storage/utility room? we did this frequently out on the floors.

no bed, no chance to sit on...also kept the # of visitors down, too. they can't all stand around and we conviently didn't have many chairs they could bring into the rooms. 2 or up to 4 are fine, take turns if there are more...but when you get the family reunions in there...it's ridiculous.

(that was the beauty of the unit..only 2 visitors at bedside at a time-and never one hour before or after report)

our clean utlilty room is just big enough for our clean supplies and a staff member or two.

the icus are embracing "patient centered care" as well -- no more visiting hours, no limitations. hooray.

[nursel56]

our clean utlilty room is just big enough for our clean supplies and a staff member or two.

the icus are embracing "patient centered care" as well -- no more visiting hours, no limitations. hooray.

oh lovely. for many patients the visiting hour limitation is a handy way for them to avoid having to say it's time for all of you to get the hell out of here so i can finally take a bleepin' nap without seeming like the bad guy? i don't get that people (like my mom's 12-member cadre of "curves" buddies) show up en masse while my mom struggles to play "hostess". what is wrong with people??? i know. they are inconsiderate for the most part. being reasonable doesn't work.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

I am a nurse now but I will never forget when I was in my early 20 I was a pt in a hospital. I was in a semi-private room, my family had been allowed to stay the night with only one family memeber until I got a roommate and as I remember a elderly lady that was dying and her family which was never there did not want my family there at night .. ok I get it fine withme but I wroke up on morning and her family was sitting on my bed asked what she was doing I was informed that since I was sleeping and was not taking up the full bed that she figured that it was ok for her to sit there since all of the chairs was taken up by her otherfamily memebers, luckly she was transfered the next day. Some people just don,t care

Boy, i would have been really tempted to show to the room mates family that I was hospitalized for intermittent incontinence and treated them to some wet slacks!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

my hospital used to put paper placards on the beds after they were cleaned that said something to the effect of "This bed was sanitized by Florence because we care about our patients". then the bed would be placed as high as possible and tray secured over it. Seemed to work. We got away from those when all rooms became private.

[Jenni811, RN]

here is an idea...

put a shocker pad under the sheets, so when someone sits on it that doesn't take the shocker pad out will get a huge shock on their A$$. it sets off an alarm thing on the bed "Please step away from the bed" (kinda like a car alarm)

[Jenni811, RN]

Or put a sign on the bed "Do not sit or put anything on bed. Violators will be prosecuted. We are watching you!"

[AaronsMommyxx]

Write a piece of paper and put on the bed that says "RESERVED FOR (pt's name expected in). Please do not sit on bed, thank you!"