Emergency equipment requirements changing to accommodate over weight patients...BD
Some communities have had to invest in special bariatric ambulances -- trucks equipped with hoists and special stretchers to transport patients weighing up to 1,100 pounds.
"Occasionally the fire department may be called in to help remove a patient via cherry picker because they cannot be brought through the stairwell," said Dr. Shelly Jacobson, chair of emergency medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Extra wide beds, stronger toilets and special patient lifting devices are becoming more and more common in emergency rooms. The reason for such new equipment? Hospitals across the United States are struggling to handle increasing numbers of extra-large patients.
ABC News: A Heavy Burden on Emergency Services
Hat Tip: Kevin, MD
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