The present invention relates to articles for the care of patients and residents of a health care facility and disabled persons, and more specifically to the regular bathing needs of same when performed by a care provider.
A difficult requirement of patient care is bathing a bed bound patient. Though many devices have been created to assist a care provider in delivering a bathing experience to an immobile patient, none have replaced the traditional yet utterly ineffective method of wiping a patient with a wet, soapy rag. As in-patient hospital infection rates increase and prolonged hospital stays result in unrecoverable health care costs, a new, efficient, economical solution is needed. A problem arises, however, when the solution is more complicated and costly than the problem it is intended to solve. Some past attempts to solve the problem of efficient bed bathing for inpatients have produced bulky assemblies intended for reuse that are awkward to assemble, or require costly disinfection between patients. Many attempts to solve the problem of cleaning the bed bound patient require filling a surrounding enclosure with water. Many patients cannot tolerate partial immersion due to invasive devices or orthopedic devices that may degrade or malfunction if submerged. Furthermore, soaking or submerging surgical wounds in water poses a significant problem because they can become unstable and reopen. Accumulated bath water increases the likelihood that localized bacteria may migrate to other parts of the body. While there are many devices available for use with bed-ridden patients, none offer all the long felt needs in patient care, and none truly address the issue of providing a cost-effective, thorough, and complete bathing experience for a bed bound patient.
It would be desirable to provide a bed bath article that meets the safety needs of the patient and caregivers.
It would be further desirable to provide a bed bath article that is easy to maneuver beneath a bed bound patient.
It would be further desirable to provide a bed bath article that requires little or no assembly prior to use.
It would be still further desirable to provide a bed bath article that leverages existing bed structures for support.
In an aspect of one general embodiment, a bed bath article includes a compact package that when unfolded provides an enclosure for bathing a bed bound patient. Materials employed in the bed bath article construction are thin and flexible enough to maneuver beneath a patient without risking damage to the patient's skin integrity. More specifically, the bed bath article is a construction of flexible plastic sheet or plastic film composite construction and includes a bottom panel, a drain, a drain tube and at least four raisable panels at sides of the bottom panel for fluid containment purposes. The at least four raisable panels include at least two side panels and at least two end panels that are elevated around the patient to form a bathing enclosure. In order to use the bed bath article, the bottom panel is maneuvered beneath the patient and the at least two side panels are then uprightly supported using raised bed side rails of a hospital-style bed, thereby tensioning the end panels transversely therebetween and forming an enclosure configured for safely bathing the patient.
In some implementations, the side panels include pockets that are configured for placement over the raised bed side rails of a hospital-style bed.
In some implementations, the side panels and the at least two end panels are welded, sealed, molded or otherwise connected at a juncture to form a gapless seam.
In some implementations, the end panels may possess increased rigidity provided by a relatively stiff light-weight member; e.g., a card board panel inserted into a pocket on each end panel or adhered to outer surfaces; i.e., surfaces not subject to wetting, of each end panel.
In some implementations, the bottom panel of the bed bath article is substantially rectangular, and the side panels and the end panels are joined at corners.
In some implementations, the end panels are shorter than the side panels.
In some implementations, the drain tube may be a flexible hose that may be folded or securely kinked to control the flow of fluid.
In some implementations, portions of the drain tube may be adhered or otherwise reversibly attached to a side panel or an end panel, by means of snap fasteners, hook and loop fasteners, elastic bands, tethers, adhesives, loop fasteners, button fasteners or any fastening means to secure the drain tube to portions of the bed bath article that would suggest itself to a person having ordinary skill in the art.
In some embodiments, the side panels may include one or more pockets each.
In some embodiments, the side panels may include light-tack adhesive; e.g., peel away strips over an applied light-tack adhesive band, to enable the side panels to non-destructively adhere to the bed side rails of a hospital-style bed.
In some embodiments, the end panels may include light-tack adhesive; e.g., peel away strips over an applied light-tack adhesive band, to enable the end panels to non-destructively adhere to the headboard and footboard of a hospital-style bed. In some embodiments, an adhesive band may be attached to one or more side panels and configured to span areas of hospital-style side rails otherwise uncovered. In such cases, the adhesive band may be drawn from a side panel and connected to an end panel in order to increase tautness of the end panel.
In some embodiments, the bed bath article may include more than one drain and drain tube. While in the embodiments depicted, a drain is shown in one corner of the bottom panel, one or more drains may be positioned on one or more side panels adjacent the bottom panel.
In some embodiments, the side panels may include one or more regions or strips of light-tack adhesive which may extend from one end of a hospital-style bed to an opposite end, thereby providing additional support for the side panels; e.g., the light-tack adhesive of a side panel may be adhered to one or more bed side rails of the hospital-style bed, or to a bed side rail and a headboard, or, to a bed side rail and footboard, the adhered portions of the side panel providing tautness to the structure.
In some embodiments, adhesive tabs or strips may extend from portions of the bed bath article to adhere to portions; e.g., bed side rails.
In some embodiments, a stiffener may be inserted into one or more pockets of the side panels or adhered to portions of the side panels.
In some embodiments, the bed bath article may be configured to conform to a mattress of a hospital-style bed in a fashion similar to that of a fitted sheet, such that when desired, bed linens can be removed, and the side panels and end panels of the bed bath article can be inverted, i.e., flipped upward, forming sides of a bathing enclosure. In such an embodiment, the panels of the bed bath article may be (1) disinfected and dried after use, (2) turned down and under a mattress, and (3) linens such as a fitted sheet and flat sheet placed over the bed bath article to serve as a moisture barrier to prevent soiling of the mattress surfaces.
Common to all embodiments, the bottom panel of the bed bath article is of sufficient length so that a patient's head and feet do not encounter the end panels when installing the bottom panel beneath the patient.
Common to all embodiments, once the bed bath article is in place and all panels are secured, a bed bound patient can be bathed by a caregiver. Waste water and debris are rinsed down the drain, through the drain tube and into an appropriate waste receptacle. Once the bath is complete, the bed bath article may be removed and disposed of in an appropriate manner.
Among the several advantages of one or more aspects of the bed bath article are to provide an inexpensive, light-weight, disposable article enabling a more thorough bathing of a bed bound patient in the hospital setting. By utilizing the hospital bed's side safety rail, stability is added to the device without sacrificing patient safety. The bed bath article is most advantageous to patient care because it allows the care provider to control the bathing process by rinsing the patient instead of soaking. Rinsing the patient ensures that infectious agents are readily removed from the patient and disposed of properly. Additionally, the care provider can pay particular care to wash sensitive areas more thoroughly without causing unnecessary discomfort to the patient. The bed bath article is packaged compactly and may be easily stored on the shelf of a unit supply room.
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the bed bath article may be constructed by stamping, molding, blow molding, gluing, sonic welding or by any suitable manufacture. The construction can be a single film or plastic sheet, multiple conjoined plastic sheets, or, laminated plastic sheet or film.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures wherein the scale depicted is approximate.
In the following description, the terms “article” and “bed bath article” are used interchangeably. The term “raisable” refers to any portion of the bed bath article which may be raised from a collapsed or folded state and supported in a raised position. The term “insert” refers to any item or article inserted onto or into a portion of the bed bath article. The term “panel” refers to a portion of the bed bath article which is distinguished by structure or function from adjacent structures; erg., a single panel may possess one or more sub-panels. When referring to construction of the bed bath article, the terms “sheet” and “film” are used interchangeably. The term “hospital-style” refers to beds that possess one or more side rails that may be raised and lowered. Unless otherwise explained, any technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” is intended to include “and” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of this disclosure, suitable methods and materials are described below. Objects, aspects or features of any embodiment described herein may be combined with any object, aspect or feature of another embodiment described herein. The term “comprises” means “includes.” All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. In case of conflict, the present specification, including explanations of terms, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
Referring generally to
Referring to
While typically plastic end panels 104a, 104b having a thickness of 8 mil will support themselves without collapsing when supported between side panels 102a, 102b, plastic film of lesser thickness may require additional support.
When side panels 102a, 102b are supported by the side rails 202a, 202b the structure of the enclosure is stabilized and will not collapse during use. Once patient 310 is positioned atop bottom panel 101, the bathing procedure can begin. As water and debris are rinsed from the patient, waste water is drawn by gravity into drain 112 through attached drain tube 114 and into waste receptacle 120. Drain tube 114 may be a lay-flat type hose which is normally packed in a flattened state and expands with flowing liquid. Such lay-flat hoses may be wholly or partially kinked or folded as required to control the wastewater flow. Alternately, the drain tube may be secured with a clip, a rubber band or other suitable means for securing the tube in a kinked or folded disposition. The drain tube may be secured out of the way by tucking or folding it into a pocketed pouch 119 located on a side or underside of the article. By controlling wastewater flow, the bathing procedure can include periods of rinsing and soaking according to patient need.
When installing the bed bath article, the article is placed on the bed 200 next to and aligned with a reclined patient. First, the patient is rolled onto his or her side with the front of his or her body facing and substantially parallel to one set of side safety rails 202a, 202b. Article 100 is unfolded making sure that drain 114 placed at the footboard 206 end of the bed and with the corner drain 112 slightly below the plane of the mattress 208. Beginning behind the patient, a first side panel; either 102a or 102b is pushed against the bed mattress and as far as possible under the patient's body. The patient is then rolled onto the article and into a position facing the bed side rail opposite the first. The first side panel beneath the patient is freed and suspended from the nearest bed side rail. The foregoing steps are repeated, first one side and then the other, until the patient is lying on the bottom panel 101 between erected and supported side panels 102a, 102b. If the patient has some mobility, he or she can assist the care provider by using the bed side rails as hand grips. The end panels 104a, 104b are either held taut and upright by the supported side panels, or, the end panels may be attached to the headboard or footboard of the bed. Once the patient has been bathed, the article is drained of water and debris and removed by following the described steps in reverse.
Folding and Packaging of the Article
Referring generally to
The bed bath article of the present invention can be used in nursing homes, acute or chronic care hospitals, or other facilities for a series of patients where standard hospital bed with side safety rails are utilized. The article may also be ideally used in a manner consistent with decontaminating a patient who has been exposed to chemical, radiologic, or pathologic hazards. In such cases, the device can serve as a decontamination unit. The article may be provided in different sizes for large adults, smaller adults, and children. The device may be manufactured in an variety of colors whereby color may serve to designate a patient's condition, such as “high fall risk” or “isolation” due to a contagion or illness. Such colors may also serve to designate the size of the device, where by one color may designate a particular size of the patient who is to be bathed.
It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed. Accordingly, it is intended that this disclosure encompass any further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of this disclosure, and falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
This Non-Provisional Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/172,172 titled “Disposable Bed-based Bathing Apparatus and Cleansing Basin” and having a filing date of Jun. 6, 2015.
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Number | Date | Country |
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2213271 | Aug 2010 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62172172 | Jun 2015 | US |