2 residents from Denmark

Experience reports on the Therapeutic Bed ThevoVital used in our facility

The Therapeutic Bed ThevoVital for persons with dementia, made by Thomashilfen, was tested in our facility (care community “Baelum Aeldrecenter”). The following results could be noticed during testing:

Resident No. 1: ThevoVital was used first with a woman with progressed stage of dementia. Prior to testing, her daily routine was dominated by conflicts she had with other residents or caregiving staff. At night, she slept very little. She was very restless, wanting to go back home to her husband and children. She often was very upset, accusing her siblings of stealing from her. She became physically violent and also verbally abusive towards others almost every day. Being provided with the Therapeutic Bed ThevoVital, we noticed significant improvement in her sleep rhythm. She still woke up a few times at night, but after a short while she wanted to be brought back to bed without showing any aggressive behavior. Furthermore, we could clearly notice that conflicts with caregiving staff and other residents decreased in the daytime. She now often engaged with us, a smile in her face, telling us that she is doing fine and feeling comfortable. This had never happened before. The woman has been sleeping on ThevoVital for half a year now and her sleep behavior improved even more. At times she sleeps through the night without waking up at all. Also her aggressive behavior decreased. This, of course, facilitates staff handling of her and is a great relief to them. Prior to using ThevoVital, this lady required constant staff supervision throughout the day. These care efforts are considerably reduced. The time between physical and verbal conflict keeps growing. The result is an improved working climate amongst our caregiving staff.

Resident No. 2: The second person provided with ThevoVital was a male resident (Mr. X) with a progressed stage of dementia. He was brought to us, when living at home was no longer possible. A MMSE test (Mini-Mental-State-Examination) showed that the mental state of Mr. X was equal to that of a baby. He was physically mobile and strong and had no other deficits. Coming to rest was very difficult for him, and the caregiving staff had extreme problems communicating and dealing with him. Mr. X was not a Danish citizen and dementia made him forget the Danish language. This circumstance made it even more difficult for the staff to communicate verbally with him. Mr. X also had hallucinations. He did not want to eat or drink accusing the staff of trying to poison him. After using ThevoVital for 14 days, this resident slept through most of the nights. Although he still believed that the staff wanted to kill him, he accepted more care and assistance. His anxiety states disappeared almost completely. Mr. X began to eat and drink without assistance and often greeted us with a smile in his face. During the entire period of using ThevoVital staff observed a considerable improvement of Mr. X. Half a year later, the state of this resident worsened substantially due to illness. So we decided to use the Therapeutic Bed, ThevoVital, with another patient.

Jeanette Jakobsen
District Director
Rebild Commune

Bælum Ældrecenter, Møllevangen 1, 9574 Bælum

Four Residents from U.S.A.

This (e-mail) is a brief synopsis of the bed study we completed. Overall the results of the bed study were very positive. In the first resident we saw a decrease in her OCD behavior. The resident has a history of waking at all hours of the night, wandering into the hall and dining room, asking for coffee and her respiratory inhaler. Those incidents decreased significantly 2 days after the bed was instituted. She is napping less frequently during the day as well, and has raved about the bed since she began using it. The second resident has a history of whimpering and talking throughout the night, and occasionally rolling out of bed. The whimpering stopped by the second night, and I have heard no further reports of such while still using the bed. She did have one incident of rolling out of bed, with no injury. She appears to be more alert during the day, napping less often. Her husband reported to me she understood a statement he had made to her on one occasion which hasn’t happened in quite a number of years. He held a very short conversation with her. The last resident came into the study 2 days after starting because the original resident put on the study had an underlying condition that would have hampered the results. The new resident was reported to have slept more soundly the first part of the study. His habit was to get up extremely early to wander around the facility and present with an angry affect. He initially began going to bed earlier, and sleeping later, however at about five days into the study, he began wandering at night and getting angry with re-direction again. The last day of the study he slept soundly all night. He usually gets agitated during the day quite often as well. Those incidents have decreased since the study. So with this resident it is my opinion there has also been some success. We at Marine Courte are very pleased and proud to have been chosen to be a part of this study. My staff and I want to thank you for your consideration.

Mrs. J.* from Germany

Mrs. J. is 83-year-old resident of an inpatient care facility. She is in a moderate stage of dementia. Mrs. J. is mobile and frequently on the go in the living area. She joins group meals and enjoys being in company with others. She is friendly with an outgoing attitude toward her environment. Mrs. J. is very restless at night. She often gets up when awaking, walks about, then reclines again. This hampers staying in bed for longer periods, and thus restorative sleep. This causes her to be sleepy in the daytime, further impairing her mental capability. Caregiving staff describes her as having an “inner restlessness”. This restlessness has a negative impact on her well-being. Considering this situation, caregivers of the living area agreed to provide Mrs. J. the ThevoVital, to improve her quality of sleep. After using ThevoVital for two weeks: Mrs. J. continues having regular awake phases, but does not get out of bed as often as before and thus gets back to sleep quicker. The sleep quality of her nights improved significantly. She is better rested in the daytime and the “inner restlessness” has settled.

Norma from U.S.A.

ExoMotion Mattress Trial Results at Somerset Memory Care

Prior to using the (ThevoVital) mattress Norma demonstrated the following:

• She slept only in a recliner at night. She refused to sleep in her bed.
• On a rare occasion she would lie on her bed to nap but it was only about an hour.
• When she came out of her room it was only to sit on a chair in the hall outside her door.
• She did not interact with staff and/or other residents and would only eat by herself.
• She was very resistive to care. She yelled at staff and refused their help.
• She was very negative and grumpy all the time.
• She had delusions about animals being present in her room and dogs under her bed.

It took Norma approximately a week of sleeping on the mattress to show the following significant changes:

• She sleeps in her bed anywhere from eight to twelve hours a night. Staff has to come and get her up for meals.
• She sleeps in her bed all night.
• She willingly lies down for naps throughout the day.
• She no longer uses the recliner.
• She is much more engaged in her environment.
• She comes out of her room to engage in activities and socializes with staff an other residents.
• She eats in the dining room with a table mate.
• Not only does she sleep longer but it is good quality sleep

Dee McGinnis, RN, BSN
Corporate Director of Clinical Programs,northwestcare.com

Deborah Watson
LPN, Director of Nursing, Somerset Memory Care Community, Everett, WA