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What is head-of-bed (HOB) elevation and why is it being monitored and reported?

Patients on a ventilator have a high risk of getting pneumonia. One of the ways to help prevent patients from getting pneumonia is to raise the HOB to at least a 30-degree angle. The goal is for healthcare facilities to keep beds at the proper angle for 100 percent of patients on ventilators. Hospitals are currently voluntarily reporting to the DHSS the number of patients on a ventilator and the number of these patients who have the HOB at 30-degrees or greater. The DHSS then calculates the rates of HOB elevation and posts them on this web site.

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