The New Jersey Legislature has
unanimously passed a bill that would require nursing home operators
to swap out regular mattresses with pressure-relief mattresses within
three years. Operators would have to buy the more costly mattresses
when replacing older ones starting a year from the bill's enactment.
“While pressure redistribution
mattresses may cost more up front than the standard spring
mattresses, we cannot put a price on the continued health and
wellness of our state's most vulnerable senior citizens,” said
bill co-sponsor Sen. Bob Gordon (D-Bergen). “While these new
mattresses alone won't make bed sores an ailment of the past, they
will greatly reduce the incidence of bed sores, and make their
treatment much easier on the dedicated nursing home staff.”
Providers have
been strongly involved in creating and promoting the bill, said a top
official with the Health Care Association of New Jersey.