CA2113439C

CA2113439C - Pivoted power column

Info

Publication number: CA2113439C
Application number: CA002113439A
Authority: CA
Inventors: L. Dale Foster; Timothy A. Kappers
Original assignee: Hill Rom Services Inc
Current assignee: Hill Rom Services Inc
Priority date: 1991-08-09
Filing date: 1992-08-07
Publication date: 2004-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2012-08-07
Also published as: WO1993002597A1; JPH06509951A; EP0613346B1; KR100216687B1; US5284255A; DE69225330D1; HK1010778A1; ATE165498T1; EP0613346A1; AU2431592A; CA2113439A1; US5186337A; JP3174575B2; DE69225330T2; EP0613346A4

Abstract

A power column (15) is a hollow post having six vertical walls (21-26) and is mounted between horizontal arms (16 and 17) pivoted to the floor (12) and ceiling (11), respectively. The pivotal axis (18) for the arms passes through the head end (19) of a hospital bed (20) enabling the power column to swing from one side of the bed to the other. The electrical outlets (27-29) are on two walls (22 and 23) separated by a front wall (21) so that one or the other of the walls is easily accessible whether the power column is on either side of the bed. Lateral horizontal rails (40) are pivotably mounted an either side of the column. The height of the rails is adjustable. The rails contain one or more gas outlets (45) which are laterally adjustable on the rail and can carry other accessories that are laterally adjustable.

Description

Pivoted Power Column Background of the Invention This inventi~.m relates to a power column, and more particularly, the inve:at.i c>n relat:e;:~ t.o a pivotable power column of the type described in commonly owned ZT.S. Patents 5, 377, 371 and 5, 455, 97.5 of Jarwary 3, 1995 and Gctober 10, 1995 respectively.
A power column generally is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4, 523, 683 and is fi~cEecily mounted between floor and ceiling of a hospital room. The column is of rer_tangula.r cross section. A
bed is positio:zed with its head end adjacent to the power column and with the bed being positioned at the angle with respect to the power column that is most corwenier~t for the attending nurse and for providing physic;logical services for the patient. The power column has mounted in its front face plural gas outlets, that is, outlets for ~:»>ygen, purified air, nitrous oxide and vacuum. Alongside wa:L:l.of the power column are electrical outlets. There is l::n°ovision for normal 7.10 volt, power, emergency powE:r, low voltage communication circuits and low voltage monitoring cir~~:u.its. A monitor with visual display is mounted on an arm at tree front wall of the power column, 'the arm permitting they monitor t.o tilt an~3 ~~wivel. Vertical mounting rails are prow=_ded to m:~ur~t: a wide va.r.iety of accessories such as a sphygmomanometez:~, dr~:~inage bag, 1V pole, stat clock timer for code blue situations, l..a.nups, storage baskets, et~~.
The power co:lurnn is for critic_:al care patients. The obj ective has been to :na.i:e a1.1 of the equ.ipmerlt associated with the treatment of the ~pa~v:ient: as accessible as possible while providing as much freec:lo:m of movement: as possible around the bed so as to permit the nc::rse to att e:nd t:tne patient, even in code situations.
The above--referenced TJ.:3. patents describe improvements, part:icul,::~ri y in t~c~ mcunt:i_ng of the power column for pivoting movement a:r~ound the head end of the bed. More specifically, there are disclosed support arms pivoted to the floor and ceiling, resi:~ec°tivel.y, on an axis that passes through the head end of: the bed. The power column is mounted between the free ends of those arm::, thereby permitting t:he power column to be swung to eivher corr~e:r_ at: the uead end of the bed so as to be positionable on either tine right or left side of the bed. The pivoting power cc:~lumn incr eases ~~~he f:l_exibility of bringing services to the patient crr-~ the side of= fihe' patient where they are needed or, alternativrE_~l.y, making the equipment optimally accessible to the nur~>e, with the nurse having the choice of having the equ~_pment on r:er left or her right hand. The pivoting power column also fr.ee~s space at the head end of the bed for procedures requiring t:ha:~ nurse t:o access the patient from the head end of th~? bed.

Brief Summary of i:.h.e Inventi.orr It has been ;gin objecti.ve of the present invention to provide a power column What improves upon the power column of the aforementioned U.S. ~a'~ent;s and to provide a power column providing optimal access> to the patient with equipment that is more easily reached by 1_1-~e nurse, the power column having greater flexibility in positioroir3g and moving equipment to meet specific needs of the patient.
The «bjective~ o:E the invent:ior~ ~s at.tained by providing a power column having two substantially identical ele~~trical outlet walls lying in planes that are about 90° to each other and preferably separated l:~y a frornt: wall. The power c:ol.umn is enclosed by parallel ;side walls and a ba~.~..k wall so that preferably it is six-surfed in cross section.
The pain of c~~l.ect:r.ic:a7. ol.ztlet ~daalls that are at right angles to each other pE:rmit the power column to present, to the attending nurse, an out a. E: t: wall t;hat: is perpendicular to t:he side of the bed regardless c:f the side c>f the bed to which the power column V1'~ 93/02597 PC°Tl~J~921065~3 .. ~ , , .. . ' ~ .,.,, , ~ x.13 4 ~~g~ -4-has been pivoted. Thus, the electrical outlets are optimally accessible.
The power column is provided with a pole ~n , each.side of~the power column. The pole.contains a - 5 ' rotatable vertical rail. Laterally projecting, horizontal gas rails can be mounted in any vertical position on either vertical rail so that the gas rails are thus vertically adjustable and pivotable toward or away from the attending nurse. Accessories such as drainage bags or vaporizer bottles can be mounted on the gas rails. More importantly, one or more of four gas outlets can be mounted on each gas rail. The outlets are horizontally positionable for optimum access.
15 The rear wall of the power column preferably has seven horazc~n~a3 rows of hook-up outlets. The top three and bottom three rows are preferably oxygen, purified air and vacuum; respectively, and the middle tow i~ a~nitr~u~ oxide.
20 Within the column are two vertical, hollow ~xtrus~.ons mounted on the opposing side wails. JEach hollow extrusion has two passageways, thus providing a ~ota1 of four passageways gor the four gases.' Each extrusi~n hay a vertical rib with bores angled through 25 the rib to respective tubes, thereby providing verti°
cally~spaced and alternating ports for the two gases supplied through the extrusion. Each port is con-nected to a horizontal tube having the four hook-up _5_ outlets that project through the back wall. of the column.
Flexible hoses connect the hook-up par is to the gas outlets that can be snap-fatted on r:~arizontal gas rai-~s generally of the type disclosed in IJ.S. Pate~ut Na. 4,t~46,,211.
Within the ~:>c:~~aer ~~ol.umr are four raceways f:or any combination of four elec:t::rical c.ir gaits, for example: normal 110 volts, emergen~oy power, communication lcw voltage, and monitoring low voltage.
Each side wall has two vertical charnels suitable for mounting variaus types of accessaries usir:g mo~znting of the type disclosed in lJ. S . Paterut No . 4, 52.3, 683 .
A further fE~ature of the i.nventian resides in the provision of a monita:r mounting arm and monitor combination providing a variety of monitor mavements: vertical tilting through about ._2" to rai_~e and lower the monitor; swiveling about its own axis; ;winging a~:~ the arm thrauc~h about 22.0°; tilting on its own axis through are. arc of up t:o abaut_ 15° .
The ~~ombined effects of the structural features of the invention greatly improve the accessibility and flexibility of the pivoting ;power column. The elec'~rical outlets are more accessible. The gas a~.at:iets are not only more accessible, but are adjustable vertac:ai:LyY, laterally and pivotally. The monitor ~7V4~ 93/02597 P'C'f/LJS92/065~3 ,..,.
-h-is more completely ad3ustable with respect to the power column. These features obtain even if the power column is fixed. However, when coupled with the power column's ability to swing through about ~1f0° around the end of the bed, the combination enables the nurse to put the monitor in the most desirable position.
The cross section of the power column is, per se, small ,. being approximately 11 X 13 % °° in its preferred form. This is significantly smaller than the fixed power column of U.S. patent No. 4,523,63 and thus permits greater access to the patient around the head end of the bed.
grief Dascriptifln of the Drawings The several features of the invention will become m~r~e readily apparent from v the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
.. Fig: 1 is a perspective view of the inven-ti~n s ..
'2~ F~g~ 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the outline-~f the invention in c~njunction with a hospi-tal beds gig', 3 i~s a side elevational view ~f the ~,nvention Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the invention Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the power column taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 4~

'Vf~ 93f02s97 ~C'ff~7592f06S83 Fig. 6 is a disassembled perspective view of the gas rail mount of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the gas rail taken along lines 7.-7 of Fig. 6~
Fig. 8 is an elevational view of a monitor mount;
Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of Fig. 8t and Fig. l0 is a fragmentary perspective view of 30 the back of the power column showing the gas hookups.
Detailed Description of the Invention Referring to Fig. I, there is shown a hospital rgom 30 having a ceili.n~ 11 (Fig. 3) and a floor 12. A power column 15 in accordance with the pr~sei~t invention is mounted between an upper arm 16 and a lower arm 17; The upper arm 16 is pivotably mounted t~ the ceiling 13 and he lower arm 17 is pivotably mounted on the floor 32. A single pivotal ~x~.s 1~ f~r the ass passes through the head end 19 of 2p a lied 20 shoran in outline form in Fig. 1.
As best shbwn in Fig. 2, the power column 15 can b~ swung thr~uc~h an arc of about 120 ° so that in one p~sition ~R at the rightlside of~the bed the power cblumn is at the right corner of the bed, and in alternate position L, the power column is at the left side of the bed. The power column can be at any place in between the positions R and L, but it is believed that the positions R and L are the most desirable from va~c~ ~~eoz59~ ~e-revs~zeos~~~

_ d the standpoint of accessibility of the equipment to the nurse.
As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the power column preferably has six walls. A front wall 2l~is connect-ed to two electrical outlet walls 22 and 23. The outlet walls 22 and 23 are each angled at about 45° to the front wall and 90° to each other. Opposed paral-let side walls 24, 25 are connected to the outlet walls. A back wall 26 encloses the power column. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the outlet walls 22 and 23 have a plurality of electrical outlets ar receptacles mounted on the walls. These are simplex outlets 27, duplex outlets 28 ~r two-gang duplex outlets 29. By refer~°ing to F9.g. 2, it can be seen that when the .15 POWer cOILlTCIn iS 111 he R pOSitl.On, the Outlets ~n the wall 23 aye easily accessible to the nurse with the ~a11 being appraxim~tely perpendicular to the sidle of the bed. 4~hen the power column 15 is in the I. posi-tion, the oui~~ets ~n the wall 22 are accessible with 2a the- wall 22 being aPProximately perpendicular to the side of the bed. the Connections to the outlets, Principally normal power .and emergency power, are subst~nti~7:ly'duplicated on each wall.
As best shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6, each 25 side w~xll 24 , 25 has a . vertical front rail 30 and a vertical rear rail 31. The rails are employed grin- ' cipally for the mounting of accessories and gas outlets 45. A vertical pole 35 is mounted by upper v~o 9~iozs9~ ~e.~re~u~~z~oss~~
and lower fixtures 36 to the vertical rails 3t3 and 31 on each side of the power column. Each,pole 35 is fixed by a set screw 34 in its fixtures 36. Each pole 35 has a vertical rail 38 which is rotatable around the pole 35. A plurality of horizontal gas rails 40 are fixed to the vertical rail 38 on the pole '35 by means of a releasable fixture 41. Accessory rails 38(a) for other equipment can be mounted .on vertical rail 38.
The rotatable rail 38 has a channel 42 defined in part by spaced apart lips 43. The fixture 41 has two spaced flanges 44 which underlie the lips 43 when the fixture 41 is slid into' the channel 42. A
clamping block 39 is mounted on a screw 46 threaded into the fixture 41. A knob 47 fixed to this screw 46 pewits tae screw 4 6 to be rotated in the fixture 41 to cause the -clamping blockv39 tc be pressed against the bottom of the channel 42 in order to fix the fixture 41 and the accessory hat it carries in any 2~ selected vertical position on the rail 38. Each fixture 41 permits the associated gad rail 40 to be vertically adjusted to any position on the pole 35.
As shown in Figs . 6 and 7 , ~ the has r~lil 4'0 is generally of the type disclosed in U.S. patent ~to.
4,646,211 and has a snap-in channel 5~ adapted to recea,ve a releasable mounting fixture 49.
The snap-in channel 50 has a horizontal groove 51 defined on the lower side of the groove by a ~t'~ 93/~Z597 PCf!'~J~92/06583 ~ ~ J- ~H. ..., ,~ , . .
~

.

:;. .:_ ._ _. ... 1 10 horizontal rib 52. The rib 52 has a downwardly-depending lip 53.

Each fixture,49 is in the form of a block 54 having an upper tongue 55 that is projecta~le into. the groove 51. A plastic fastener 58 is pivotally mounted ' at 59 to the block 54. The fastener has arms 56 which have upwardly-projecting lugs 57 that snap in behind the downwardlydepending lip 53 and hold.the block in position with the tongue 55 in the groove 51. ~A pair 1~ of compression springs 60 urge the arms upwardly to hold the lug 57 in position behind the rib.

The mounting fixture 49 is suitable for mounting'accessories 6l such as a drainage battle or a vaporizing bottle. Each gas rail 40 is about 18" long and the fixture 49 can be mounted at any position ~5 along the rail. thereby avoiding interference among various items of edtaipment.

Gas outlets 45 are a7.so removably mounted on the rails by fi~ctures 49., When the ffixture 49 is employed as a gas outlet; ~.t. has a bore extending ~

through it. At one end of the~bore is a nipple 62 whim is threaded to receive a gas outlet 45 that is :threaded t~ it.' The other side of the bore leas a threaded n~.pple that receives the end of a hose 63.

2 Each outlet 45 is connected by the hose 63 to a hook-up outlet 66 projecting through a triangular reeess in the back wall 26 of the power column, l5 (Fig. 1U). The hose 63 preferably lies in a housing W~ 93t4i2597 P~rtUS92t06583 ~~~J~~~
_~1 f4 attached to the gas rail. The housing has a hinged iid 65 permitting access to the hoses 63.
Four type of gases are available, namely, oxygen, purified air, vacuum, and nitrous oxide.
Those gases are supplied through four tubes 71, 72, ?3 and 74 (Fig. 5j. Tubes 71 and 72 form part of an integral vertical extrusion ?5 on one side of the power column and tubes 73 and ?4 form. part of an integral extrusion 76 on the other side of the~~power column. The two extrusions 75, 76 extend vertically down the respective side walls 24 and 25 within the interior of the power column. Fach extrusion has a vertical rib 78. gpaced down the length of each extrusion are alternating bares 79 and 8~ extending 1~ through the rib 78 into respective tubes 73 and ?4.
Each bore ?980 is connected to a respective hora~-zontal manifold bar 81 having four hookup: outlets projecting from it, The bar 81 is canti~.evered from ,its respective extrusion 75 and a.s capped at its free z:,~ end g2.' The ho~k~up outlets 66'project through the bask wall 26 as - ehowr~ 'in Fish. 10 so as to be easily accessible f~r connection to a hose 63 leading t~ the gas outlet ~5: , .
There are, uniformly-spaced down the power ~5 colur~nn; seven manifold bars 81 each deliver~.ng the one gas to which it is connec~ced. As stated above, the (first three bars are connected to oxygen, pure air and 9~r,~ 93/~2597 . , P~'/~J~92J065$3 vacuum. The same is true for the bottom three bars.
' The middle bar is connected to nitrous oxide.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that the nurse can mount one or more gas rails 40, vertically spaced in any position along the vertical rails 3'8 at either side of the power column. The gas outlet 45 mounted on the gas rail is connected to the desired hook-up port 66 through the flexible hose 63. Prefer-ably, the outlets ~5 are color-coded. The vertical 0 position of the gas rail 40 can be adjusted and the gas rails can be pivoted closer to or farther away from the nurse working alongside the bed 20.
Within the power column 15 are four vertical raceways for electrical circuits or conductors (F'ig.
5). Two triangular raceways 90 and 91 carry electri cal c~nductors. The conductors in raceway 90 are con-nected to n~rmal 110 valt power wi~ile raceway 91 carries conductors connected to emergency power.
raceways '92' and 93 carry low voltage communication 0 circuits and 1~w ~rol~age monitoring circuits or other electrical type. respectively.
The walls 2~ and 23 party enclose housings 95 and 9f,' respectively. The outlets 27~29'mounted on the wal la 22 , ~ 3 proj ect into those housings . Knock-outs 97 on the triangular raceways 90, 91 and knock-outs 98 on the housings 95, 9& permit conductors 100 from the normal voltage and the emergency power to cross over to the remote housings 95, 96 but are iVV~ 93/02597 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t~ PGT/1J592/065~3 _13_ . .. .
directly connected to the outlets in the adjacent housings through knockouts 98. A third raceway 101 having the crossover conductors 7.00 is foamed by a sheet metal wall 102 which is secured by screws to the back walls of housing 95, 96. The wall 102 separates the gas hook-up ports 66 from the electrical conducA
tore 100 for safety reasons. Thus it is that sub stantially identical connections can be made to the outlets on both walls 22, 23 so that regardless of the left or right position of the power column, the nurse will have access to substantially the same electrical power outlets.
All o~ the walls forming the outside walls of the power column 15 and the internal housing and raceway walls are formed of the extrusions depicted i.n Fig. 5. Certain of the extrusions are interconnected by a 1/8°° wire 110 threaded down a hole formed by adjoining grooves in two wall elements to be joined togethere' Other wall- elements are joined by screws as, for example; in the positions x.11.
Another useful feature of the invention cons~.sts of the mounting of an electronics module 115 Figs. 1,'3 and 4)''on the front of the power column about ~~ feet off the floor. It provides a location for the critical controls, i.e., stab clock, code blue swi.~.ch, nurse call, etc. With the power column in any position, the nurse is able to reach these critical controls from either side of the bed.

. , ' , °.. '. . ;;;;.. . , . <~:, . .~«': ,. ... ..a.
'dV4 93/02597 ~~.°T/US92/065~3 ~,..w.

A final feature of the invention consists of a mounting 120 of a monitor 121 (Fig. 1) so that it is easily viewed by the attending nurse and is easily moved to the position most desired by the attenda.ng nurse. The monitor 121, which may weigh something of the order of 60 lbs., is supported on an arm 123 (Figs. 3 and 9) obtained from Fohrsight Co. of Clacamus, OR. The arm 123 is pivoted at 124 on a horizontal axis for swinging up and down through an 1p angle of about 15°. The monitor 121 is carried by a bracket 125 which is pivoted at 226 on a horizontal axis on the other end of the arm 123.
Counterbalanca.ng compression springs or ~ther means .3.30 are mounted on rods 131 pivoted at 132 to the post 233 at one end and at 134 to the bracket x;25 at the other end: The rods 131 and arms 123 form a four-bar parallelogram linkage which permits the bracket 125 and the monitor which it carries to be raised anew lawered. A screw 140 is connected at one end to the pivot 124 and at the other end to a block ~:41~ against wh~.ch the end of the compression springs 130 bear.' The screw 190 is threaded into the block 1:41. and can b~ routed to change the amount of co~-pression on the springs 130. The compression springs v 25 130 cr~unterbalance the weight of the bracket and monitob 121:
The post 133 is pivotally mounted in a bracket 150 which permits the monitor 121 and arm 123 ~V~ y31025~7 PC.T/IJ~~2/065~3 ~1~~~~~~~~
to swing through an angle of about 22A° as shown in F'ig. 2, thereby permitting the monitor to be swung to either side of the power column 15.
The monitor. itself can swivel on the verti-cal post 125 to permit optimal viewing by the atten~
dant o In the operation of the invention, the power column will be positioned either in the L position or in the R position at the left or right corners 'of the 1p bed 20. Usually the positioning will depend upon the condition of the patient and the location of the instruments that must be connected to the patient.
However, in some instances it is positioned in accor~-dance with the convenience of the attending nurse.
Electrical instruments may easily be c~n~
n~cted to the electrical outlets on the walls 22 or 23 because the particular wa~.l is directly Easing the purse.
~h~ necessary connections are made to the gas outlets from the hook°ups on the back of the power c~iumn. The gas rails may be raised and lowered and they may be pivoted toward and away from the attending 'n,~rse as deei~red'Accessories such as bottles ~m~y be mounted on the gas rails and slid from left to right for proper spacing with respect to each other as well as proper spacing with respect to the gas outlets.
Once' the power column gas outlets and the 11~e have been properly positioned, the monitor will l~V~ 93/U2597 PC'f/~JSl2/065~3 _16_ also be set for the most direct viewing by the attend~-ing .nurse as she administers to the patient.
From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and t$e .precec~~.ng detailed description of a preferred embodiment, those s~,illed in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to wha.ch the present invention is susceptible. Therefore, I desire to be .limited only by the scope o~ the following claims and equivalents thez'eof

Claims

1. A power column adapted to swing from one side of a hospital bed around its end to the other side of said bed, said power column comprising:
upper and lower arms adapted for pivotal mounting to a ceiling and a floor respectively along a single pivot axis, a hollow, vertical housing having six vertical walls mounted between said arms, said vertical walls including a front wall having two vertical edges, an outlet wall extending from each vertical edge of said front wall at an angle of about 45° to the plane of said front wall, opposed side walls connected to said outlet walls, a back wall connected to said side walls, and a plurality of electrical outlets on said outlet walls, whereby, when said column is swung to either side of said bed, an outlet wall will be disposed substantially perpendicular to the side of the bed at the corner of the bed, facing an attending nurse positioned at the side of the bed and thus optimally accessible to the attending nurse.

2. A power column as in claim 1 further comprising:
means on each side wall for pivotally mounting at least one laterally-projecting gas rail, at least one gas outlet mounted on said gas rail, and a flexible hose connected to said gas outlet whereby said gas rail can be pivoted with respect to said power column to permit optimal positioning of gas outlets.

3. A power column as in claim 2 further comprising:
means for adjusting the height of said gas rail with respect to said power column.

4. A power column as in claim 1 further comprising:
at least one vertical rail on each side wall, and at least one accessory mounted on said vertical rail.

5. A power column as in claim 1 further comprising:
vertical interior walls forming with each outlet wall two vertical housing's within said power column for each outlet wall, and means forming four vertical raceways between said vertical housing for the following categories of electrical connections:
110 volt supply emergency power low voltage conductors low voltage communication systems.

6. A power column as in claim 5 further comprising a plurality of vertical gas supply tubes mounted between said vertical housings and said back wall, a plurality of hook-up outlets connected to said tubes and projecting through said back wall.

7. A power column adapted to be arcuately moved from one side of a hospital bead around its end to the other side of said bed, said power column comprising:
a hollow, vertical housing having six vertical walls, means supporting said housing and permitting said housing to be arcuately moved from one side of the bed past one end of the bed to the other side of the bed, said vertical wall including a front wall having two vertical edges, an outlet wall extending from each vertical edge of said front wall at an angle of about 45° to the plane of said front wall, opposed side walls connected to said outlet walls, a back wall connected to said side walls, and a plurality of electrical outlets on said outlet walls, whereby, when said column is arcuately moved to either side of said bed, an outlet wall will be disposed substantially perpendicular to the side of the bed and thus optimally accessible to an attending nurse.

8. A power column as in claim 7 further comprising:
means on each side wall for pivotally mounting at least one laterally-projecting gas rail, at least one gas outlet mounted on said gas rail, and a flexible hose connected to said gas outlet whereby said gas rail can be pivoted with respect to said power column to permit optimal positioning of gas outlets.

9. A power column as in claim 8 further comprising:
means for adjusting the height of said gas rail with respect to said power column.

10. A power column as in claim 7 further comprising:
at least one vertical rail on each side wall, and at least one accessory mounted on said vertical rail.

11. A power column as in claim 7 further comprising:
vertical interior walls forming with each outlet wall two vertical housing's within said power column for each outlet wall, and means forming four vertical raceways between said vertical housing for the following categories of electrical connections 110 volt supply emergency power low voltage conductors low voltage communication systems.

12. A power column as in claim 11 further comprising a plurality of vertical gas suppler tubes mounted between said vertical housings and said back wall, -20-~

a plurality of hook-up outlets connected to said tubes and projecting through said back wall.

13. A power column adapted to be arcuately moved from one side of a hospital bed around its end to the other side of said bed, said power column comprising:
a hollow, vertical housing having six vertical walls, means supporting said housing and permitting said housing to be arcuately moved through about 120° from one side of the bed past one end of the bed to the other side of the bed, said vertical walls including a front wall having two vertical edges, an outlet wall extending from each vertical edge of said front wall at an angle of about 45° to the plane of said front wall, opposed side walls connected to said outlet walls, a back wall connected to said side walls, and a plurality of electrical outlets on said outlet walls, whereby, when said column is arcuately moved to either side of said bed, an outlet wall will be disposed substantially perpendicular to the side of the bed and thus optimally accessible to an attending nurse.