'The incredible talking bed'

HIGH RIDGE, Mo. - Mike Esposito believes he's built a better mousetrap.Three years ago, the owner of Therapy One, a provider of pressure-support surfaces, figured there had to be a better way to train caregivers on the products he supplied. In particular, traveling back and forth to his nursing home customers--notorious for high turnover--to train new hires was getting expensive. The solution, according to his business partner, Rick Galloway, is the "incredible talking bed." In short, Esposito's new company, Healing Solutions, has rolled out a Group II low air-loss mattress (E0277) that includes an audio feature that provides users immediate instruction on how to use the product properly. "Most manufacturers look at end users as patients, but there are other end users who were getting ignored: the dealers and care settings," Esposito said. "They are the ones writing the checks for the products, and we said we need to come up with something that supports the patient-care triangle: patients, caregivers and providers." Enter the new iQ Medical system. The audio feature saves the dealer money by reducing in-service training, helps the caregiver with immediate instruction and that, in turn, gives the patient speedier and more competent care, Esposito said. Additional audio features do the following: - If an unauthorized user attempts to change the bed's patient settings, an audio message will sound with the provider's name and phone number, instructing a caregiver to call them for assistance. - With the press of a button, state nursing home surveyors receive information on the unit's serial number, maintenance schedule and other necessary information. Esposito and Galloway rolled the new mattress out about a year ago with select providers and began marketing it nationally at Medtrade in September.