A mattress apparatus including a foam layer, an inflatable air cushionsuperposed with the foam layer, a first pneumatic line in fluid communicationwiththe air cushion, and a non-shearing layer covering at least a portion of theaircushion. The air cushion can be inflated to support a patient such that theair cushioncontours the patients body and disperse pressure portions over a larger area,therebyhelping eliminate pressure points which can cause or worsen skin wounds. Thenon-shearinglayer can help prevent further tearing or pulling of the skin as a patientmoves on the mattress. The foam layer can comprise viscoelastic polyurethane.Theapparatus can include a removable cover at least partially surrounding thefoamlayer, inflatable air cushion, pneumatic first line, and non-shearing layer.An airpassage can be defined through the removable cover.
