Local inventor creates head-elevating bed

When Bloomington resident Joyce Claflin Harrell was diagnosed with acid reflux disease in 2001, her doctor told her to take medication and sleep with her head elevated.\nBut Harrell soon discovered sleeping in a bent position was bad for her body. Not only does it hamper posture, but it causes stomach muscles to tighten. She turned to the Internet and catalogues to search for a bed that could be electronically elevated several inches. Her efforts merited her no success.\nThat's when she was inspired to invent the Sleepcliner.\nThe Sleepcliner is a bed that elevates several inches at one end, which doctors say helps prevent acid reflux, a disease in which stomach acid enters and eventually burns the esophagus.\nIn the Spring of 2002, Harrell went to Arlington, Va., to research a patent for the bed and realized her idea was unique. When she returned to Bloomington she met with contractors and designers who eventually helped her create the Sleepcliner bed.\nHarrell returned to her patent attorney to seek maximum coverage on her design and received a patent in August.\nThe head of the bed elevates with the simple touch of a button -- there is no bending at the waist, reducing the cause of pressure in the abdomen. \n"It is another option that we have to offer our patients," said Dr. Brad Bomba Jr., a local doctor at Internal Medical Associates whom Harrell consulted while developing her idea. \n"It's a great idea, a great concept," Bomba said. "And it will work for patients."\nThere are three possible beds available for purchase: the twin full, the queen-king and the dual king. Queen-king, the most popular so far, costs $2,599.\n"It's well worth what you spend," said Kay Beth Harrell, an owner of a Sleepcliner bed. "They came out and installed it for us, were very helpful and showed us how it worked and all. It made it very easy for us."\nWhile doctors agree that the Sleepcliner bed is a good alternative to help patients, it may be too expensive for some because many insurance companies will not pay for the bed, Bomba said.\nHarrell rationalizes the higher prices by comparing Sleepcliner to other medical beds.\n"They are very comparable in price to adjustable bed frames," Joyce Harrell said, emphasizing the heavy-duty steel design.\nHer three models of Sleepcliner beds can be shipped throughout the United States and are receiving publicity from multiple magazines.\n"It takes a long time to get the word out," Harrell said, but several beds have already been sold. Habaco Lifeline Inc., a dealer in Santa Ana, Calif., recently began carrying the Sleepcliner.\nJoyce Harrell said she looks beyond profit and realizes she helps improve the quality of life for those who share her disease.\n"Helping people (and) seeing them get a product that really helps them is the best part," Harrell said.\nTo find out more about the Sleepcliner bed, go to www.sleepcliner.com. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Dana \nShapiro at dlshapir@indiana.edu.