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For most people, the term “hospital bed” conjures up the same image: a metal hospital bed—technical, cold, with raised side rails. No wonder many people are inwardly resistant to the idea. After all, seeing such a bed in your own living room quickly brings to mind the “charm” of a hospital.
Yet the bed plays a crucial role in everyday life: whether someone can get up and go to the bathroom on their own or has to wait for help, and whether they can participate in family life.
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What types of nursing beds are available? What factors matter when choosing one—and why does appearance play a bigger role than you might think? Two interviewees—who have spent decades doing nothing but designing beds—answer these questions for us. They work at the family-owned company Mühle, located in the Limburg an der Lahn region of Hesse. The company specialized early on in custom solutions for the healthcare sector—setting itself apart from the major hospital bed manufacturers.
A conversation about the possibilities—with Nadine Mühle and Dennis Ontyd, who has been working in engineering and sales since 2008.
SBC: How has the market for nursing beds changed in recent years? Are you already noticing the effects of demographic change in your sales?
Ontyd: Yes, definitely. Care is increasingly shifting to the home. In the past, more people went to nursing homes—today, many care for their loved ones in their own homes—partly because nursing homes are simply no longer affordable for many. In Germany, the out-of-pocket cost is now around 3,800 euros per month, while pensions haven’t kept pace. In Austria, this kind of copayment doesn’t exist—but 24-hour care comes at a similar cost.
Mühle: The real hurdle lies elsewhere: Many people aren’t even aware that there are alternatives beyond the traditional nursing bed. And deep down, everything in us resists that one familiar image—because as soon as a bed like that is in the room, you immediately feel sick.
SBC: You place great importance on ensuring that your beds don’t look like hospital beds. Why is the appearance so important?
Mühle: Because no one wants to have a hospital in their own home. Very often, the bed is in the living room—not tucked away in a bedroom on the first floor, but right in the midst of family life. And when everything looks like a hospital, it’s downright overwhelming: the medical equipment, a feeding tube. These aren’t exactly pleasant things—and they don’t belong in the living room without some kind of screening.
Ontyd: Especiallyfor people who spend a lot of time in bed, comfort and beautiful design aren’t a luxury: they help preserve a sense of normalcy, rather than reducing a person to their illness.
That’s why you can choose any finish you like—from warm wood tones to modern colors, whatever you prefer. I’ve even built a pink, magenta-colored bed frame for a young customer who wanted it exactly that way.
SBC: What types of nursing beds are available—and which one is right for which situation?
Ontyd: It always depends on the situation. For people who are prone to falls or who have dementia, low beds are a good option: You lower the bed to its lowest position, less than 20 centimeters above the floor. That way, almost nothing can happen if someone rolls out—and no one has to be confined anymore, as was the case in the past behind raised side rails.
A sit-to-stand bed is designed for people who can no longer get out of bed on their own. It basically works like a recliner that raises itself upright. Many people eventually end up sleeping only in an armchair because they can no longer make it to bed—and are relieved when they can return to the bedroom this way. And finally, there are repositioning beds to prevent pressure sores: They automatically reposition the patient by tilting continuously to a preset angle at intervals of 30, 60, or 90 minutes—and they do so quietly, without the loud compressor that many people dread in alternating-pressure mattresses.
The key factor is always the medical indication: What exactly is the problem? In cases of muscle or nerve disorders, patients often lack the strength to get out of bed—which calls for a different type of bed than, for example, a situation involving a high risk of falling.
SBC: A nursing bed usually means that couples who have been married for many years can no longer sleep in the same bed. Are there any solutions for a double bed?
Ontyd:There’s an integration solution for this: The lift mechanism is built into the existing double bed in such a way that it’s not visible. For many people, this makes a big difference. The familiar bed doesn’t have to be cut up or thrown away, and the partner continues to sleep right next to it.
For planning purposes, a drawing showing the required dimensions is sufficient; we will use this information to tailor the quote to your exact needs.
SBC: Is there any help available with making a selection? There are a lot of factors to consider before making a purchase.
Mühle: My most important piece of advice: Don’t buy blindly. Especially in the beginning, many people have spent a lot of money on the wrong products because they didn’t know what to look for—and often didn’t even realize that their health insurance might cover part of the cost.
The first question should always be: What does a person really need? That’s exactly what can be determined in advance: In Germany, a medical supply store or our own sales representative will visit your home free of charge and bring the bed for you to try out. In Vienna, too, our beds can be viewed and tried out at the Vienna Red Cross.
After all, nothing is more frustrating than delivering a bed that doesn’t fit in the end. So be sure to try it out first—at a showroom or in your own home.
SBC: Are there any structural considerations in the room that need to be taken into account?
Ontyd: Yes, a few. You’ll need several outlets because the features require power. There shouldn’t be a sloped ceiling above where the bed is placed, because these beds can be raised.
Where the bed swings out to the side, there should be about 60 centimeters of clearance, and there also needs to be space between the bed and the wall. To ensure everything fits right from the start, we use a measurement form: Once the measurements are entered, we tailor the quote precisely to the room.
SBC: What about funding?
Mühle: In Germany, a lot of things are handled through health insurance. In Austria, funding varies from state to state—which makes it more complicated.
What bothers me about this is that people who have been paying into the system for years and then need assistance often face resistance and a lot of red tape—starting with respite care and ending with being bedridden. Anyone who is old and alone, with no one by their side, will have a hard time navigating the system. Yet in the end, it’s actually cheaper for the insurance provider if a person remains mobile and needs less additional care.
SBC: The number of very elderly people is growing rapidly. Is this changing your products—and what are your hopes for the future?
Ontyd: As for the beds themselves, there will be significant developments, particularly in terms of accessories. The motors will improve, and operation will increasingly rely on Bluetooth as well as eye and ambient motion control—so that even seriously ill people can still control their beds on their own.
And that is also my hope: that more will be invested in long-term care, that people will be better informed, and that applications will be approved more quickly. Getting a nursing bed and support should be easier and more transparent—without having to fight your way through all the red tape. The bed, in particular, determines how mobile you can be despite your limitations.
The market will grow, and the number of older people will continue to rise. But it must not be the case that those with limited financial means are the ones who end up without the care and support that could actually be provided.
Thank you very much for the interview!
The family-owned Mühle company, based in the Limburg an der Lahn region of Hesse, specializes in custom and comfort solutions for the healthcare sector—ranging from low-profile beds to sit-up beds to repositioning beds, which can also be integrated into an existing double bed upon request. The beds can be viewed and tested at several locations in Germany as well as in Vienna (at the Vienna Red Cross). For more information, visit the website https://www.muehle-mueller.de.
Author: Anja Herberth
Chefredakteurin
