Stretcher inspection checklist for NEMT vans: the cot, straps, and floor fastener, shift by shift

This is the form for the cot itself, one sheet for each cot. It pairs with the NEMT vehicle inspection checklist, which covers the van. The maker’s service intervals, disinfectant limits, and recall checks are in the guide to stretcher cot maintenance, so this page sticks to what the crew ticks off and what the monthly inspector signs. It follows two cot makers’ manuals: Stryker’s Performance-PRO XT (a manual cot) and Power-PRO XT (powered), and Ferno’s iNX (powered) with its iNLINE floor fastener. If your cot is another model, use its own manual and treat this list as the shape of the form.

Who does which check

The crew does the start-of-shift column, and a trained technician or maintenance lead does the monthly one. Ferno’s iNX manual calls a check at the start of each operator shift good practice, and asks the service’s equipment maintenance personnel to inspect the cot regularly. Stryker says service is for qualified personnel only, and counts its intervals in months or hours of motor run time, whichever comes first. The Power-PRO XT’s hour meter shows how long its hydraulics have run, so the form has a box for it. Stryker’s three-month, six-month, and yearly work follows the maker’s schedule in the maintenance guide, so it is not on this form. The service history table at the end has a line for each visit.

The template

Cot and van

Start of shift: every cot

• Unload the cot and lower it to the ground. It moves without catching.
• Raise the cot to rolling height and push it through a full circle. It rolls freely and tracks straight.
• Wheel locks engage and hold. Casters swivel through a full turn.
• Frame, litter, and base: all parts present, nothing cracked or bent, hardware tight.
• Safety bar swings, catches the van’s safety hook, and returns to its home position.
• Strap set complete and every buckle latches and releases: chest, hip, knee, and the over-shoulder set.
• No cut or frayed webbing, no bent or broken buckle receiver or latch plate.
• Mattress and cover intact: no rips, punctures, or cracks.
• Load-height setting still matches this van’s deck height. Stryker’s Power-PRO XT sets it between 26 and 36 inches, with half an inch added to the measured deck height.
• Back in the van: the cot locks into the floor fastener, the safety bar catches, and the floor around the fastener is clear.

Start of shift: powered cots only

• Battery pack housing and terminals: no cracks or damage.
• Battery level checked and the pack charged. Stryker’s light is solid green when charged, flashing amber when it needs charging or replacing, and solid amber for an error.
• Charger cord, pins, and housing: no cuts, bent pins, or cracks.
• Raise and lower through the full range. The cot stops at transport height, loading height, and fully extended and lowered, without binding or odd noise.
• Buttons, lights, and display work, with no error code showing.
• Cords and cables: no cuts, fraying, or hanging wires.
• With a powered floor fastener, the cot’s battery starts charging when it locks in.

Monthly: cot and fastener

Done by the maintenance lead or a technician. For a powered Stryker cot, do it at the month or the two hours of motor run time, whichever comes first.

• Frame, litter, and base: no bent or broken parts, no cracks or metal fatigue.
• Powered Ferno cot: battery and battery cover removed, and the frame underneath looked at.
• Every wheel secure, rolling, swiveling, and free of debris. Wheel locks stop the wheel.
• Manual backup release or manual mode handle works.
• Safety bar operates freely and returns.
• Restraints: receiver and latch plate straight, webbing sound. Stryker asks for this at least monthly and more often on a busy cot.
• Lubricated only at the points the manual names (Ferno’s iNX lists the safety bar pivot and the slider rails), and nothing marked do not lubricate.
• Floor fastener: all components present, no cracks or corrosion, moving parts smooth, hardware tight but not overtightened.
• The van floor around and under the fastener looked at for damage and for hardware pulling through.
• Powered Stryker cot: in-fastener shutoff setting, cylinder rod wiped, cables and wires, and charger parts checked.
• Recall search in the FDA database done for the cot and the fastener names.

Result and tag-out

Circle one: Pass / Fail, cot out of service

Service history, one line per visit

Does a state require the cot to be inspected?

Some do, through the van rather than the cot alone. Virginia’s Medicaid requirements have every vehicle inspected before it carries members and stretcher vans inspected twice a year, and have the driver and attendant confirm that the restraining straps are fastened and that the stretcher, fasteners, and anchorages are secure. Illinois issues a stretcher van license for four years that stays valid if the department’s annual inspection finds the provider in compliance (77 Ill. Adm. Code 515.835). Its inspection form (IOCI 15-659) checks the cot, three sets of straps plus over-shoulder straps, the three-point fastener or an approved rail mount, and that equipment is secured. The strap and mount specifications each state writes are in the stretcher van equipment guide, and the wheelchair side of securement is on the wheelchair securement checklist.

What to do when a line fails

Take the cot out of service, tag it, and tell dispatch the van cannot take stretcher trips until it is fixed. Ferno has owners pull a cot that shows damage or excessive wear until it is repaired, and Stryker has the cot come out of service for a maintenance inspection. Fill in the result table above, and let the person who clears the cot sign the release line.

• A strap, buckle, or mattress. Replace it. Stryker says to replace a worn or inoperable restraint strap, and Ferno has owners replace a torn or punctured mattress.
• A damaged or cracked battery pack. Replace it, as Ferno’s manual says.
• A wheel lock, a hydraulic leak, or a frame crack. Keep the cot out until a technician clears it.
• Fastener hardware pulling through the floor. Take the van off stretcher trips; the fastener steps, including the check after any crash, are in the maintenance guide.

A new crew can learn this form during its practice runs, and the skills to practice are in stretcher training for NEMT crews.

Keeping stretcher vans on the right trips in HealthRide

In HealthRide, a stretcher trip goes only to a van that has a stretcher space. Drivers do the van check at the start of every shift in the driver app, and the fleet page carries registration and insurance dates with reminders ahead of each one. When a cot is tagged out, dispatch moves that van’s stretcher trips to another van on the dispatch board.