Abstract: An institutional mattress includes a resilient core and a mattress covering sealing the core. The mattress covering is waterproof and has a ticking base fabric made of yams with a denier value of at least 500 and has a thread count of at least 18 threads per inch in both warp and fill. The core may be fire resistant polymeric foam and the ticking base fabric may be 1050 denier “ballistic” nylon having 22 to 23 threads per inch in both warp and fill. The ticking base fabric may be coated with urethane having a flame retardant and an anti-microbial, and laminated with a waterproof and abrasion-resistant polyurethane film. Alternatively, the ticking base fabric may be treated with a flame retardant and also coated and/or laminated with a waterproof material. The mattress covering may be sealed around the core with stitching.