Selecting the right stretchers is an important decision for healthcare facilities. Stretchers are not only a means of moving patients, but they can also directly impact patient safety, staff efficiency, and the quality of care. The correct stretchers help medical facilities reduce the risk of patient falls, minimize staff back injuries, and streamline workflow.
This post will explore the:
It is essential to recognize that not all patient transfers are the same. Emergency personnel and healthcare professionals rely on a variety of stretchers, each engineered with unique features to address specific patient needs, environments, and medical situations. From the dynamic conditions of an accident to specialized care within a hospital, understanding the distinct types of stretchers is essential.
At the risk of stating the obvious, choosing the right type of stretcher depends on its primary use.
Emergency Stretchers are built for rapid response and transport.
Transport Stretchers (Gurneys) are the workhorses of in-hospital patient movement. They are used to move patients between departments, such as from the emergency room to radiology or from a patient floor to an operating room.
Specialty Stretchers are designed for specific clinical needs.
Folding/Portable Stretchers are lightweight, collapsible, and ideal for field use, disaster response, or in facilities with limited storage space.
Stretcher Chairs are versatile patient transportation stretchers engineered to transition from a flat stretcher to an upright chair. These hybrid transportation stretchers often feature motorized height, back, and leg positions to help minimize back strain on healthcare professionals.
A high-quality stretcher is defined by features that prioritize both patient and healthcare professional safety, patient comfort, and usability. When evaluating stretchers, patient safety and provider ergonomics are the most critical features to consider for stretchers intended for daily clinical use.
Look for stretchers with these features:
Safety Features:
Patient Comfort:
Staff Usability:
Selecting medical stretchers demands a comprehensive assessment of clinical needs and operational environments within the healthcare setting. Factors to consider include patient weight capacity, maneuverability, and integration with existing medical equipment. Ultimately, the chosen equipment must maximize patient safety and comfort while offering ergonomic features that protect healthcare staff from injury.
Although not exhaustive, here is a sample evaluation checklist:
Choosing the right stretcher is a strategic investment in the safety and efficiency of your facility. We encourage you to evaluate your specific patient transport needs through your healthcare equipment distribution partner. Requesting demos and comparing features side-by-side will help you make an informed decision that will raise the bar on the quality of care for your patients and the safety of your team.
CME Corp. is the United States’ largest specialty distributor. We are solely focused on equipment used in healthcare and have built long term relationships with industry leading manufacturers of patient transportation stretchers.
Our expert account managers will work with you and the manufacturers’ representatives to evaluate and purchase stretchers that answer the clinical needs and budget of your facility.
Complementing CME’s expert focus on equipment used in healthcare are project management direct-to-site delivery, and biomedical and technical services.
Dedicated project management teams will ensure your patient transport stretchers are assembled and delivered according to your specifications by our in-house Direct-to-Site services, when it is convenient for staff.
For over 45 years (and counting) biomedical and technical services have been at the heart of CME Corp’s integrated services. We offer preventive maintenance contracts, stretcher repair, and asset tagging services through our in-house teams of biomedical technicians across the country. CME’s services are warranted for ninety (90) days under normal operating procedures.
Find your account manager and partner with CME Corp. for a wide variety of stretchers.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier specialty distributor of healthcare and life sciences equipment. We partner with over 2,000 manufacturers to offer more than 2 million products across healthcare, laboratory, pharmacy, and research sectors. In addition to an extensive product portfolio, we also offer project management, CAD design, warehousing, logistics, consolidated direct-to-site delivery, and biomedical and technical services, all staffed by CME employees. Our mission, to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment acquisition, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate, or expand on schedule, is supported by 25 service locations strategically located across the country.