Patent ID: 8261380

Claim:
A patient turning accessory operable to be positioned adjacent a bed for receiving a person from, or transferring a person to, the bed, while turning the person between the supine and prone positions, the patient support accessory comprising: a mechanically-actuated mattress foundation having a longitudinal adjustable side and a longitudinal relatively fixed side opposite the longitudinal adjustable side; a mattress mounted over the mattress foundation; and a lift mechanism operable to preferentially raise the longitudinal adjustable side relative to the relatively fixed side of the mattress foundation, in order to tilt the mattress toward the adjacent bed; wherein relative to its position adjacent the bed, the mattress is operable to rotate from a substantially flat to a tilted position in only one direction; wherein the patient turning accessory is operable to be transported away from the bed after receiving a person from, or transferring a person to, the bed; wherein the mattress foundation and mattress, when tilted, assume an upwardly-facing concave lateral cross-section to partially cradle a person being transferred away from or to the mattress; and wherein the mattress foundation includes longitudinally-oriented rigid elongate members that keep the mattress foundation stiff along the longitudinal dimension.