Hill-Rom offers trade-in deals when hospitals purchase new equipment, and the manufacturer has also set up a reconditioning division. Butler says it's not a major part of the business they do, but it has been growing.

"We do offer reconditioning here locally," says Butler. "It's full-service reconditioning. We strip it down until it is just the skeleton and replace all of the parts and rebuild, rebuff and repaint it back to its original condition."


Older beds that may not be as viable back on the market are sometimes donated to charity. Hill-Rom recently replaced all of the beds in a hospital in the Yucatan and has other plans to refurbish or replace beds in developing countries.

"The beds we replaced were very old and very manual," says Butler. "Some of these were 25 or 30 years old."

Stryker also offers bed reconditioning. "It's a significantly growing part of our business - what we call the Stryker Certified Program," says Elliott. The manufacturer entered a logistics partnership with Universal Hospital Services in 2007 to advance that portion of their business.

Late vintage beds go around again

In the business of hospital furniture, the aftermarket for beds and exam room furniture appears to be steady, although many brokers and dealers say that the major bed manufacturers hold a captive market and limit the amount of used beds that can be purchased from hospitals for reconditioning and resale. Regardless, it remains a viable business for a number of refurbishers and dealers.

"We're as busy as we want to be," says Herbert (Herb) Wayne, manager of eMedicalSales, a nationwide refurbisher and reseller of hospital furniture based in Yankinville, NC.

International sales are becoming a stronger segement of eMedicalSales' business. Wayne says hospital beds and other furnishings are oftentimes shipped to Vietnam, South America or parts of the Middle East, including Lebanon.

"We've been doing a lot of overseas business," says Wayne. "The more the dollar falls, the more people want to buy from us. Our goods are becoming more attractive to outside markets."

Some of the items in highest demand include Stryker beds circa 1995 to 2007. For a 2007 model, Wayne says the price of a used bed can be 30 to 40 percent off new, depending upon the condition and warranty requested.

Wayne says another sector of the business that is picking up is bariatric furniture. "Bariatric beds are a trend that is going to continue because the American population is getting heavier. Other customers looking for customized mattresses will buy a basic model used bed and then go out and purchase a new mattress, which can cost $5,000-$7,000 in the case of those that come with rotation, vibration and percussion modules that work through the bed.

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