The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored a severe hospital bed shortage in the U.S., a situation that Gumbo Medical, LLC, is working around the clock to help rectify. It isn’t just ventilators in short supply nationwide; many other vital medical equipment is scarce for hospitals and urgent care centers, including stretchers and beds. But why is this so?
It Started With Roemer’s Law
A 1970’s concept, known as Roemer’s law, stated that “a hospital bed built would be a hospital bed filled.” Hospital administrators and public policymakers believed that the more beds that were available, the more doctors would admit patients to fill them, increasing medical care costs.
Because of this concept, the U.S. government passed a law (repealed under President Reagan) that helped reduce the average number of available hospital beds to below three beds per 1,000 people.
The Growth Of Outpatient Care
Roemer’s Law and medical policy decisions have led to the emphasis of outpatient services over inpatient services during the past fifty years. For instance, hospitals are now performing many surgeries and other treatments that would have required several days of inpatient care on an outpatient basis.
This has allowed hospitals to cut costs and improve the quality of care, but it has also resulted in a sharply decreased number of available hospital beds over the same period.
When Demand Outweighs Supply
Hospitals in hard-hit areas have struggled to increase the number of available beds to care for COVID patients. Finding new and used hospital beds has proven elusive, and manufacturers are not always able to keep up with demand. Some hospitals that have extra beds are storing them in offsite warehouses, rather than releasing them to the used medical equipment market.
Generic Equipment Often Falls Short
Some vendors are jumping into the hospital equipment game, trying to capitalize on the supply/demand issues. However, generic hospital beds often lack the features you need to provide the best of care. Gumbo Medical, LLC, offers like-new, fully restored, used hospital equipment from leading brands that you already know and trust.
Helping Relieve The Hospital Equipment Scarcity
Gumbo Medical, LLC, is a leading supplier of used hospital equipment, including hospital beds and stretchers. We are working around the clock in our Las Vegas, NV warehouse refurbishing high-quality, used hospital beds to like-new condition to help meet today’s demand.
Watch this news story featuring our efforts:
Available Refurbished Hospital Beds
- Hill-Rom 1000 Medical Surgical Hospital Bed
- Hill-Rom Advance Hospital Bed
- Hill-Rom CareAssist Hospital Bed
- Hill-Rom Advanta 2 Hospital Bed
- Hill-Rom Total Care Bed
- Stryker Secure II Hospital Bed
- Stryker Go Bed II Hospital Bed
- Stryker S3 Hospital Bed
- Stryker 738 Transport Stretcher
- Ferno 35A Ambulance Stretcher
- Stryker 1020 Trauma Stretcher
- Hill-Rom P8020 Electric Stretcher
- Hill-Rom P8040 Transtar Bariatric Stretcher
Shipping Hospital Beds, Nationwide
Our used medical equipment is meticulously restored to be as good as new, at a substantial cost saving to our customers. Find out more about our refurbished hospital beds and stretchers today. Contact us at Gumbo Medical, LLC, to place your order to check our current available stock.