Torrance Memorial Medical Center has upgraded patient sleep surfaces across several hospital units — an investment in comfort, safety, and quality care. These aren’t your standard-issue mattresses. They’re high-performance clinical tools. With new IsoAir and IsoTour mattresses from Stryker, patients are now benefitting from advanced surfaces designed to improve rest, enhance healing, and help prevent hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs).
“If a patient is bedbound, they’re getting too much pressure on the skin and tissue,” said Maki Jerden, NP, Torrance Memorial’s expert in wound care treatment and prevention. “With nearly 41% of Americans living with obesity, excess body weight can cut off circulation. Without oxygen and nutrients, tissue begins to die, leading to bed sores, or pressure injuries.”
For one of the very first patients placed on a new mattress, the difference was immediate.
“He’d been hospitalized for two weeks, struggling to sleep,” shared Soraya Shahbazian, an account manager with Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies and developer of the sleep surfaces. “But after one night on the new mattress, he finally got the rest he’d been needing.”
The Risks & Realities of Pressure Injuries
Prolonged inactivity is dangerous, particularly for patients who are older or have conditions like kidney failure.
“Healthy people might take longer to develop a pressure injury, but for those in their 70s, 80s, or 90s, or patients with certain conditions, the risk is much higher, even in the same bed,” Jerden said.
The consequences can be severe and costly. Patients with HAPIs are more prone to die. On average, each bed sore can cost up to $17,000 to treat.
Where the New Surfaces Are
- Progressive Care Units (PCU): Equipped with 130 IsoAir surfaces, which provide alternating pressure and continuous low air loss to manage both pressure and moisture for higher-acuity patients.
- Medical-Surgical, Transitional Care Unit (TCU), and Mother/Baby Units: Equipped with 312 IsoTour gel-based surfaces, which redistribute pressure and enhance comfort. These surfaces can be paired with a pump to provide low air loss for moisture management.
Jerden likens the importance of moisture control to time spent in water:
“Imagine being in a pool too long. Your skin wrinkles and weakens, making it easier to break down. Dry, healthy skin is the body’s best defense,” she said. “These mattresses help keep skin dry while redistributing pressure to protect circulation.”
Jerden has already noticed fewer pressure injuries in the PCU since implementing IsoAir. Med-Surg staff have also recorded a significant drop in HAPIs. She emphasizes that while mattresses help, they don’t replace best practices:
“We still need to reposition patients every two hours. These mattresses reduce the burden, but consistent offloading remains essential.”
For staff, the workflow benefits are clear. There’s no longer a need to transfer patients onto other surfaces, reducing both patient disruption and staff injuries.
“This upgrade is more than a logistical win: it’s a patient-first initiative that reflects our values and commitment to delivering exceptional care,” said Sean Yokoe, RN, Executive Director of PCU and Med-Surg Nursing. “We’re proud to be leading the way in pressure injury prevention and patient-centered innovation.”
Every patient deserves the best. Now, every mattress delivers it.
