06. July 2023
// Articles & Reports
"We simply wanted quality"
The Leopoldina Hospital in Schweinfurt, Germany, has opted for new beds and bedside cabinets from Stiegelmeyer
The Leopoldina Hospital in the German city of Schweinfurt has a melodious name and a great tradition. The name refers to the Academy of Natural Sciences founded in Schweinfurt in 1652, which still exists today as the National Academy Leopoldina and is regularly quoted in German news programmes. The hospital itself has been the focus hospital of the Main-Rhön region for over 40 years and operates 19 specialist departments with a total of 669 beds and 42 day-clinic spots. A large part of these have recently been supplied by Stiegelmeyer. For us, this was a happy occasion to talk to Georg Kaufmann from Nursing Management and to ask about the first experiences with the new products.
The Leopoldina has acquired 500 beds: The Evario model is used in various configurations in the ward block and in a new elective service ward, the Sicuro tera in the ICU. In addition, there is the mobile bedside cabinet Quado and, for the elective service ward, the electric bedside cabinet Vitano with power sockets and USB connections. Further Quados for the functional areas of the hospital have already been ordered.
For the Leopoldina Hospital, it was the first bed exchange after a long time, as Mr Kaufmann reports: The previous models had been in use for 40 years and were always so well maintained and upgraded that even now they could be sent to Ukraine for further use. When choosing the successor beds, compatibility with the in-house bed transport system also played an important role, a lift system that brings the beds to the desired floor for use.
In the selection process, Stiegelmeyer clearly came out on top, Mr Kaufmann reports: "We simply wanted quality. Our bed technicians said the Stiegelmeyer beds were the most sturdy, and our reprocessing department praised the fact that the surfaces and removable elements were easy to clean."
Another decisive factor was a uniform operating concept for all beds. Both the Evario and the Sicuro tera, for example, can be operated with an intuitive panel integrated into the safety sides, so that nursing staff as well as patients transferring between wards can immediately use it.
The Evarios for the normal wards are in the charcoal-coloured "Storm" decor throughout. For the comfort ward, an elegant combination of wood decor head and footboards and light grey safety sides was chosen, which perfectly matches the discreet, high-quality colour concept of the rooms. The Vitano bedside cabinets in the comfort ward are equipped with swivelling monitors on which patients can watch TV, among other things. The ward is a great success, Mr Kaufmann reports: "We always get the beds filled to capacity. Private patients who have been there once only want to go there again. It's almost like being in a hotel."
In other respects, too, the feedback from patients and staff on the new products has been consistently positive so far. The space-saving Quado bedside cabinet, for example, makes everyday life noticeably easier: "I think it's absolutely great," says Mr Kaufmann. "Space is always a problem. Functional departments such as dialysis or the cardiac catheter lab are also happy that we now have this bedside cabinet." The fact that the Quado can simply be attached to a head and footboard and pushed along during bed transport is regularly used at the Leopoldina: "When patients are transferred, it's simply: 'Click it into place!' That's really great."
