Upper body deck section for a patient support apparatus

An upper body deck section for a patient support apparatus, comprising:

• a supporting structure including a deck section panel for supporting a support surface thereon, the deck section panel having a head end and a foot end opposite the head end;
• and
• an articulation mechanism operatively connected to the supporting structure and configured to be connected to a frame of the patient support apparatus, the articulation mechanism including at least one linkage assembly including a plurality of links pivotably connected to each other and collaborating to guide movement of the supporting structure between a lowered position and a raised position, at least a majority of a range of motion of the supporting structure being spanned between the lowered position and the raised position,
• in the lowered position, the deck section panel extending at a first angle relative to a horizontal plane and the foot end of the deck section panel being disposed at a first height,
• in the raised position, the deck section panel being disposed at a second angle relative to the horizontal plane and the foot end of the deck section panel being disposed at a second height, the second angle being greater than the first angle, the second height being greater than the first height,
• the foot end of the deck section panel being positioned further headward in the raised position than in the lowered position,
• the at least one linkage assembly being configured such that, as the supporting structure is moved from the lowered position to the raised position, the foot end of the deck section panel does not move vertically lower than the first height.