McLAREN-BAY REGION HOLDS 2nd Annual BED RACES

CELEBRATING NATIONAL HOSPITAL WEEK

May 6, 2012
By: O. J. Cunningham

Fifteen teams of McLaren-Bay Region (formerly known as "Bay Regional Medical Center" and subsidiary employees will race their custom-designed beds down Mulholland Avenue in front of the hospital at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8th - all to commemorate 2012 National Hospital Week (May 6-12, 2012).

For its second annual bed race (13 teams raced last year), McLaren-Bay Region invited its employees and subsidiaries to form teams to design, build, and race their beds. These are not hospital beds, but beds that reflect the teams' departments or other themes. The result is that fifteen 5-person teams (one rider, and 4 pushers), will race with each other down Mulholland Avenue, two at a time, in separate, timed heats to win the coveted stainless steel Bed Pan trophy.

Following are the 15 team names and departments:

The Pill Pushers (last year's champs!) - Pharmacy

PT Cruisers - Dept. of Rehabilitative Services, West Campus

The Terminators - Human Resources

Heart Throbs - 4 West

There's No Place Like Home Care & Hospice - McLaren Home Care Group

Lab Rats - Laboratory

Room Raiders - Materials Management

Parrot Bedheads - Patient Accounts

Stroke It to 6 East - 6 East

Rad Racers - Diagnostic Imaging

Super Heroes - Support Services

Golden Nuggets - Diagnostic Imaging

Red Eye Racers - Cardiology Night Shift

Pediatric Rugrats - 3 West

The Irregulars - Marketing and Public Relations

The May 8th Bed Race agenda is as follows (a rain date will be determined, if necessary):

1:30 p.m. Teams will meet in the East Medical Building parking lot (corner of 16th and Mulholland) and begin to parade their beds north on Mulholland to the starting line.

1:50 p.m. The Cheesetown Festival's giant mouse will warm up the racers.

1:55 p.m. Race officials review rules and race route with the teams.

2 p.m. First of seven heats begins.

3 p.m. Awards Ceremony for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

How the race works:

The race route on Mulholland Avenue begins in front of the hospital's main lobby, heads south one block to the end of the Behavioral Health Building and then returns to the starting line. Halfway down both ways, teams must perform "Diligent Maxislide Patient Safety Drills" on top of their beds.

Teams must then change lanes, and then before they return to the finish line, the rider must disembark and a new teammate must get back on the bed, before the team proceeds to the finish line.

The McLaren-Bay Region Bed Races are being organized by the hospital's "Great Escapes Committee," which creates fun events and getaways for hospital employees. Other Hospital Week events at McLaren-Bay Region include the 2012 Employee of the Year presentation at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 7th in the hospital's main lobby