Bed status information system for hospital beds

A system for monitoring the position of a siderail of a patient bed, the system comprising:

• a first sensor coupled to the siderail, a first signal from the first sensor being related to the position of the siderail, the signal changing value in response to the siderail being moved from a raised position to a lowered position and vice versa, regardless of a patient being present on the patient bed;
• a second sensor to detect whether the patient is on the bed and whether the patient has exited the bed, a second signal from the second sensor having a first value when the patient is on the bed and having a second value when the patient is off the bed;
• and
• a computer remote from the patient bed and coupled to the sensor by a datalink, the computer being configured to receive data related to the first and second signals via the datalink and display indicia on a display device in response to receipt of the data, wherein data indicative of a change from the first value of the second signal to the second value of the second signal, and vice versa, is received by the computer when the siderail is up and when the siderail is down.