Top Alternatives to Hospital Beds

Not every home care situation calls for a full hospital bed. If your loved one can still shift position and get out of bed with a little help, an adjustable bed, lift chair, foam wedge, low bed, or bed rail may meet their needs in a room that still looks like a bedroom. The right choice depends on three things: how much help they need with repositioning, how they get in and out of bed, and whether someone helps with transfers.

This guide covers five hospital bed alternatives, where each one falls short, and when a hospital bed is the safer choice. 

Five alternatives to a hospital bed

Adjustable beds

An adjustable bed base raises the head and feet by remote. That lets your loved one sit up to eat, read, or breathe more easily at night without anyone having to lift them. It fits most standard bed frames and needs a mattress that can bend with it, such as memory foam, latex, or a hybrid. It doesn't raise and lower the whole bed, which matters when someone is helping with transfers. A hi-low bed (one that raises and lowers the entire sleep surface) lets a caregiver work at a safe height, then lowers to a low height for getting in and out.

Some home care beds cover both needs. In our adjustable beds for seniors collection, the Accora Empresa pairs hi-low adjustment with a wood-finish headboard and footboard in oak, cherry, or walnut. The Dawn House is also a hi-low bed and can be paired with a matching upholstered headboard, sold separately.

Lift chairs

A lift chair looks like a recliner. Its motor raises and tilts the seat forward, bringing your loved one nearly to a standing position. It also reclines for rest: two-position models lean back slightly, while three-position and infinite-position models recline nearly or fully flat. If your loved one spends most of the day up and out of bed, a lift chair can handle daytime sitting and standing while a regular or adjustable bed covers the night. A lift chair is built for someone who can walk once they are up. If your loved one cannot, look at a patient lift instead, and ask their occupational therapist or care team which type fits.

Bed wedges and positioning cushions

Foam wedges and positioning cushions raise the head, legs, or one side of the body on a regular mattress. They need no motor or new frame. They suit short-term recovery or when a doctor advises sleeping with the head raised. Most foam wedges, though, hold a single angle. If the position needs to change through the day, or your loved one keeps sliding down the wedge overnight, a motorized bed does that job better. 

Low beds

A low bed sits much closer to the floor than a standard frame. That shortens the distance if your loved one rolls out or slips while getting up, which reduces the risk of injury from a fall. Some models are sold with an optional floor mat for the same reason. Some low beds also rise. The Accora FloorBed lowers to as little as 2.8 inches from floor to frame and rises to 25.6 inches for care (both measured without the mattress), which makes it a hi-low bed as well. Put a low bed first when the main worry is falls rather than positioning.

Bed rails and assist rails

An assist rail attaches to a standard bed and gives your loved one a solid handhold for rolling over, sitting up, and standing. It suits someone who is steady overnight but needs something to push against when getting up.

Rails carry a real risk you should know before you buy. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission identified 284 deaths from entrapment in adult portable bed rails between 2003 and 2021. Entrapment means becoming trapped within the rail or in the gap between the rail and the mattress.

Adult portable bed rails manufactured after August 21, 2023, must meet a mandatory safety standard, so choose one made after that date. Not every rail fits every bed. Check with the rail's manufacturer before using one with an adjustable base or a soft mattress, because bed movement and mattress compression can open gaps. Install the rail exactly as the instructions specify and recheck the fit regularly.

When does a traditional hospital bed still make sense?

A hospital bed is the safer choice in three situations:

• Your loved one cannot change position on their own.
• A caregiver repositions them several times a day.
• Getting in and out of bed now depends on someone lifting or guiding them.

Three features do that work. Hi-low adjustment sets the bed at a safe working height for care, at the right height for transfers to a chair or wheelchair, and low to the floor at night. On electric models, motorized head and foot sections change position without anyone lifting. The frame is about 36 inches wide on a standard home model, so with space on both sides, a caregiver can work from either side. If a home health nurse or occupational therapist is already involved, ask them whether the home has moved past what the options above can safely support.

Matching the setup to fall and pressure-injury risk

Two risks shape most of these choices: falls and pressure injuries (skin and tissue damage from staying in one position too long).

The National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel publishes an international guideline on pressure injuries with its European and Pan Pacific partners. It recommends repositioning on an individual schedule. It also suggests keeping the head of the bed at 30 degrees or lower when possible, because a raised head end adds pressure and shear at the base of the spine. For someone who spends long hours in bed, that makes easy repositioning the priority. It is also a reason to check with the care team before propping them steeply on a wedge for most of the day.

For falls, the bedroom section of the CDC's STEADI home safety checklist covers two inexpensive fixes: a lamp within easy reach of the bed and a nightlight on the path to the bathroom. Those belong in any setup. Equipment handles the rest. A low bed shortens a fall, a rail gives a handhold, and a hi-low bed sets a safe height for getting up.

If none of these hospital bed alternatives meet your loved one's needs, our hospital beds collection lets you compare hi-low, rotating, low, and bariatric models by weight capacity and size.