Need opinions of boom or swing arm system.

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Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.

Hello all,

I am on a hospital committee working to design our new Children's and Women's Hospital project at a major academic medical center. I am interested in suggesting using the boom or swing arm system instead of a fixed headwall in the ICU's.

Does anyone here use these? How do you feel about them? Does it make your room more flexible, or doesn't it matter? Do you feel it easier to keep the room clean without as much equipment on the floor? How about capacity? Do you have enough outlets for suction, medical gases, electrical? Do you hate them? Why? Do you love them? Why?

Thank you in advance for your response!

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Hey Faith!!

Sounds fascinating. Haven't worked with 'boom' or 'swing-arm systems' but I have thought of a similar over-bed system on my own. Amazing that there is actually someone marketing the idea. Obviously I shoulda patented it way back when.

I will toss in that it seems important to me that I can walk completely around the bed and that most guys I work with think its normal to 'boost' a Patient to the head of the bed by standing at the head-board and pulling the Pt towards us. So the free-standing column that contains monitor, suction, O2 and such didn't really work as well for me as I thought it would.

Good Luck

Papaw John

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Specializes in ICU.

I have worked with and without these though we refer to them as "pedestals". We will be gettting them in our new unit. The ones I have used are attached to the ceiling and take all the outlets - O2, suction,power etc as well as being docking stations for the monitor and underneath, the ventilator. The main advantage is that it stops the current problem of having to walk over power and other cords to get to the head of the bed. Because everything is one just one corner of the bed it becomes much safer and neater. Currently I always worry when I am washing hair because not only am I standing above power cords but just behind me is the bank of power outlets and although by law it has trip switches and safety mechanisms there is still 240 volts in all of that:rolleyes:

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