BATESVILLE, Ind., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hill-Rom, a leading global provider of health care solutions, has released a new portfolio of transport and specialty stretchers to meet caregiver's and patient's increasing needs.
Every stretcher in the company's new line is designed with a reinforced frame and other components to support up to 700 pounds. "This is an industry first," said William Weaver, Strategic Marketing Manager. "Our new universal 700-pound weight capacity means caregivers don't have to worry about whether or not a Hill-Rom stretcher meets the demands of heavier patients.
"Besides addressing the increasing weight of the population, the new stretchers help with the challenges of an aging workforce and fewer available caregivers. Both realities call for stretchers that are easier and safer to maneuver," said Weaver.
Designed for mobility, comfort and quality, Hill-Rom's stretchers address patient and caregiver needs with a variety of optional features and accessories unavailable elsewhere. Among them:
* A built-in scale, available on the procedural, trauma and electric
stretchers, allowing patients to be weighed without removing them from
the stretcher;
* A five-inch air mattress to keep patients more comfortable;
* Auto Contour(TM) and BackSaver Fowler(TM) features assist caregivers
to raise and lower the head section and help keep patients safely in
position;
* The first active hand brake to help caregivers easily and ergonomically
negotiate ramps and corners and assure safe, easy stops.
These new stretchers are the first of several upcoming additions to Hill-Rom's comprehensive line of products and services designed to improve caregiver efficiency while focusing on patient and caregiver safety.
"As part of our recently announced strategy, one of our imperatives is to increase the cadence of new product introductions," said Don Maier, Hill-Rom senior vice president for Acute Care North America. "Our new Hill-Rom stretcher introduction is evidence of this commitment."
About Hill-Rom
Hill-Rom Company was founded in 1929 by William A. Hillenbrand and in fiscal 2006 grew to nearly $1.29 billion in revenues as a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and workflow information technology solutions. Hill-Rom's comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings, to enhance the safety and quality of patient care. Hill-Rom employs more than 6,200 people and has numerous manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities located throughout the world. It is an operating company of Hillenbrand Industries . Hill-Rom's Web site is http://www.hill-rom.com/.
Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding the Company's future plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, representations and projections. The Company has tried, wherever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "increase," "designed," "improve," or the negative of those terms or other variations of them or by comparable terminology. The absence of such terms, however, does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. It is important to note that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: the Company's dependence on its relationships with several large national providers and group purchasing organizations, changes in death rates, whether the Company's new products are successful in the marketplace, changes in customers' Medicare reimbursements, the success of the implementation of the Company's enterprise resource planning system, compliance with FDA regulations, anti-trust litigation, potential exposure to product liability or other claims, failure of the Company's announced strategic initiatives and restructuring and realignment activities to achieve expected growth, efficiencies or cost reductions, disruptions in the Company's business or other adverse consequences resulting from the potential separation of the Company's two operating companies, failure of the Company to execute its acquisition and business alliance strategy through the consummation and successful integration of acquisitions or entry into joint ventures or other business alliances, competition from nontraditional sources in the funeral services business, volatility of the Company's investment portfolio, increased costs or unavailability of raw materials, labor disruptions, the ability to retain executive officers and other key personnel, and certain tax-related matters. For a more in depth discussion of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, see the discussions under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 2006 and under the same heading in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
