The hospital bed is perhaps the most common piece of medical equipment in hospitals and extended care facilities across the country. Patients typically spend most of their time in such beds, other than for tests or physical therapy. So, as one could imagine, patient care and comfort is of the utmost importance while in bed. In fact, many of the tests and physical therapy functions are being performed while a patient is in bed. To further this care, health care professionals rely on several different types of pumps. A T/pump is used to provide heat therapy to increase blood flow to affected body areas. A sequential pump is used to apply sequential compression to the lower limbs, and help prevent deep vein thrombosis. A foot pump is used to mimic the natural motion of walking, and help improve circulation of blood in the legs. An air mattress pump is used to inflate the air mattress upon which the patient lies to allow for individualized comfort. Unfortunately, all of these different pumps occupy space, have power cords, input and output tubing, and the like, which presents a haphazard and cluttered appearance. Should the wrong pump be disconnected due to tangled cords or tubing, patient care can even suffer. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which the various pumps and systems used in the care of a bedridden hospital patient can be organized to eliminate the problems as described above. The development of the footboard fulfills this need.
Prior art in this field consists of portable carts that transport such pumping equipment in and out of hospital rooms. While these carts are convenient and provide mobility, they fail to alleviate the clutter associated with the wiring and tubing that accompanies the use of such equipment. Furthermore, one lacks the easy access to, and storage of, the equipment because the carts must still be transported in and out of the room. Moreover, the carts still take up much needed space in the hospital room. Some hospital beds are equipped with foot-pedal controls to enable a caregiver to operate the functions of the bed, but these controls are dedicated to actuation of the bed structure. The foot-pedal controls of the prior art cannot be availed to operate the various pumps described above.