A person support system comprising: a longitudinal frame comprising at least one side rail ; a support pad positioned on the longitudinal frame , the support pad comprising a thermally conductive core portion comprising a support matrix and at least one thermally conductive element; and a cooling source thermally coupled to the thermally conductive core portion through the at least one side rail with a connector comprising thermally conductive fibers , wherein the cooling source draws heat from the thermally conductive core portion through the at least one thermally conductive element and the thermally conductive fibers of the connector thereby cooling at least the thermally conductive core portion of the support pad , characterized in that : the person support system further comprises a control unit communicatively coupled to a temperature sensor , the control unit comprising a processor and a non-transitory memory storing computer readable and executable instructions which, when executed by the processor , cause the control unit to: receive a temperature signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a measured temperature of skin of a subject or a surface of the support pad ; compare the measured temperature to a target temperature; and adjust an operating parameter of the cooling source when the measured temperature is not equal to the target temperature, thereby increasing or decreasing cooling of the support pad until the measured temperature is equal to the target temperature. a longitudinal frame comprising at least one side rail ; a support pad positioned on the longitudinal frame , the support pad comprising a thermally conductive core portion comprising a support matrix and at least one thermally conductive element; and a cooling source thermally coupled to the thermally conductive core portion through the at least one side rail with a connector comprising thermally conductive fibers , wherein the cooling source draws heat from the thermally conductive core portion through the at least one thermally conductive element and the thermally conductive fibers of the connector thereby cooling at least the thermally conductive core portion of the support pad , characterized in that : the person support system further comprises a control unit communicatively coupled to a temperature sensor , the control unit comprising a processor and a non-transitory memory storing computer readable and executable instructions which, when executed by the processor , cause the control unit to: receive a temperature signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a measured temperature of skin of a subject or a surface of the support pad ; compare the measured temperature to a target temperature; and adjust an operating parameter of the cooling source when the measured temperature is not equal to the target temperature, thereby increasing or decreasing cooling of the support pad until the measured temperature is equal to the target temperature. receive a temperature signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a measured temperature of skin of a subject or a surface of the support pad ; compare the measured temperature to a target temperature; and adjust an operating parameter of the cooling source when the measured temperature is not equal to the target temperature, thereby increasing or decreasing cooling of the support pad until the measured temperature is equal to the target temperature. <EOS>