Does Medicare cover the cost of sheets for a hospital bed?
We found out today that my grandma has been approved for hospice. They are delivering a hospital bed for her tomorrow and I'm wondering if Medicare part B would cover the cost of bedding, because the bed doesn't come with it.
Triple check for bedbugs/eggs...my dad did not!! He bought a USED hospital bed at an auction and brought home bed bugs! Long story short, situation got out of control, to say the least, and we had to destroy most everything with demolition and burning. Very costly and heartbreaking...he had PTSD from it, thinks his moles are bugs... Dad did not want my "help" through the years, always said he was fine... my husband tried to help clean things out and he brought them home to us, I even made him stripped completely down in the dead of winter before coming in the house! I found a nest in his recliner and they traveled to our new couch...we wrap plastic around everything drug them outside and burn them too, it was awful and traumatic! I'm scared to death to buy anything used, and I am one that loves the thrift stores of any kind !! I'm NOT knocking down USED at all, just INSPECT everything not just beds...very costly and sad to watch.
I happened to have an XL twin set when my dad received his hospital bed. You would be prudent to have a minimum of 3 sets Also a waterproof mattress pad really helped towards the end, I think I found one at Walmart or Target in XL size. The pads were very useful too, but tended to slide around as the parent got in and out of bed. All new bedding/pillow case and pillow made dad feel special and to have an extra pillow to prop up a bit helped or under a knee if he laid on his side.
You can find XL twin sheets at Walmart. However, the sheets are limited if they don't have them on the shelf see if you can have them ordered and pickup at the store. Bed Bath and Beyond are pricy.
It is unfortunate to hear that the Hospice provider doesn't at least bring one set of sheets with the bed. Since both Hospice providers in our area are hospital-based, they send a set of sheets with the bed when delivered. Might be something to ask the Hospice provider.
We just got a hospital bed for my mother in law. Walmart has twin/twinxl sheet and comforter sets for 40 bucks. Comes with sheets, comforter, pillow case, sham, and a little accent pillow. Can't beat it!!
Actually due to what I heard from others and the nightmares about Medicare, I seriously doubt they cover much of anything because someone else I know recently confirmed they're broke just as I suspected all along from what I was hearing. Think about it, why do you think there's such a thing as supplemental insurance like Humira? I think what needs to happen is Medicare and some of these other programs need to be funded and the proper authorities need to go after the sources that have most of our country's money, this is why our country as a whole is going broke.
What you can do is go to the local thrift shops and your local Goodwill and watch for a hospital bed or even watch private sales when everyone has them. When my elderly friend had a hospital bed, the vets actually got his from Dasco here in our town and he used regular sheets on it along with a mattress pad because the mattress was in our spring and was far from comfortable
Hospital beds actually take regular sheets and stores now sell the extra long ones, so getting this stuff on your own would probably be much better in the long run and much cheaper
My mom is in a hospital bed too. She also has an alternating pressure mattress pad...we got all of that prior to her going on hospice. I buy cotton deep pocket twin sheets. The hospital bed is slightly longer but slightly narrower than a typical twin (I measured ;-). All works well for us. I have 2 sets. We have not every needed a 3rd set, but I wash often.
No they don't. My mom was in hospice, and I bought her sheets that would fit her hospital bed, but they're expensive. I sent them back after trying the full size sheets she already had.
Giving is correct - most modern hospital beds for in-home use have to have Twin XL sheets (readily available in any big box store like WalMart), and I recommend using the sheet straps you can buy to keep the corners on the mattress, because the weight of the person's body on the bed combined with the head or foot of the bed raising and lowering tends to pull them off all the time unless you can get the *really* deep pocket corners on the sheets. The Twin XL sheets are needed because the mattress on these beds is longer than a normal twin, so it can accommodate being bent when the head/foot raises and lowers.
Amazon has really good prices on the blue-backed fabric bed pads (the ones with the quilted white fronts) that are waterproof and large enough to fit all the way across the mattress and cover a big enough area to contain incontinence accidents. They are not meant to absorb a huge amount, only leaks - so just a heads up on that. I think I paid about $11 or $12 for each one I purchased and I bought about $80 worth when Mom needed them - this gave us one for her chair, one for her bed, a couple to keep in the van for travel and a few extra for rotation while others were in the wash.
Hmm. The hospital bed my mom had was twin XL like in college dorms. I went to BB&B to the clearance aisle and found some really bright, cheerful sheets. You will need several sets, as time goes on you may be changing the sheets daily in spite of the bed pads and disposable underwear.
Regular twin may also fit, though, due to the deep pockets that sheets have nowadays.
Just a note: if you are using a mattress that has air pumped through it to minimize pressure points, you are supposed to lay on them directly. However, I couldn't stand the thought of at least a sheet and incontinence pad. But definitely a mattress pad would negate the effect of the air flow.
Hospital bed use standard twin sheets. Since these are not "durable medical equipment" they are not covered. If you have larger sheets, just tuck them in.
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Triple check for bedbugs/eggs...my dad did not!!
He bought a USED hospital bed at an auction and brought home bed bugs!
Long story short, situation got out of control, to say the least, and we had to destroy most everything with demolition and burning. Very costly and heartbreaking...he had PTSD from it, thinks his moles are bugs...
Dad did not want my "help" through the years, always said he was fine... my husband tried to help clean things out and he brought them home to us, I even made him stripped completely down in the dead of winter before coming in the house! I found a nest in his recliner and they traveled to our new couch...we wrap plastic around everything drug them outside and burn them too, it was awful and traumatic! I'm scared to death to buy anything used, and I am one that loves the thrift stores of any kind !!
I'm NOT knocking down USED at all, just INSPECT everything not just beds...very costly and sad to watch.
Itching as I write this
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What you can do is go to the local thrift shops and your local Goodwill and watch for a hospital bed or even watch private sales when everyone has them. When my elderly friend had a hospital bed, the vets actually got his from Dasco here in our town and he used regular sheets on it along with a mattress pad because the mattress was in our spring and was far from comfortable
Hospital beds actually take regular sheets and stores now sell the extra long ones, so getting this stuff on your own would probably be much better in the long run and much cheaper
We found that the best buy was at Walmart. We got 6 sets for less than $75
Amazon has really good prices on the blue-backed fabric bed pads (the ones with the quilted white fronts) that are waterproof and large enough to fit all the way across the mattress and cover a big enough area to contain incontinence accidents. They are not meant to absorb a huge amount, only leaks - so just a heads up on that. I think I paid about $11 or $12 for each one I purchased and I bought about $80 worth when Mom needed them - this gave us one for her chair, one for her bed, a couple to keep in the van for travel and a few extra for rotation while others were in the wash.
Regular twin may also fit, though, due to the deep pockets that sheets have nowadays.
Just a note: if you are using a mattress that has air pumped through it to minimize pressure points, you are supposed to lay on them directly. However, I couldn't stand the thought of at least a sheet and incontinence pad. But definitely a mattress pad would negate the effect of the air flow.