Behavior Change and Health News
The Threat of Obesity on Emergency Services
The obesity epidemic is putting a strain on emergency services all around the United States. Because of expanding waistlines, emergency services, from first responders to emergency room staff, are feeling the pressure. Emergency rooms now are equipped with bigger beds, stronger toilets, and special patient lifting devices to accommodate the ever-growing American population. Furthermore, emergency personnel are feeling the strain, literally. Eric Berger, lead author and researcher on a study conducted to assess the impact of obese patients on emergency personnel, discovered nearly one in two medics suffered a back injury while performing his or her duties. The majority of those medics were attempting to lift extremely overweight patients. Berger recounts an example in his study of 22 Cleveland firefighters and emergency workers who spent 2.5 hours trying to remove a 772-pound woman from her townhouse. When 22 emergency service personnel are tied up in one situation, another emergency situation goes without adequate emergency support.
In addition, obese patients are too big to use the normal hospital equipment found in a standard emergency room. CT scanners and MRIs usually have weight limits of approximately 250 pounds. Therefore, heavier patients are unable to use the machines; health care personnel are often required to call local zoos to use animal scanners to perform any type of diagnostic tests on those patients. Health care workers are also unable to determine the proper dosages of medications for large patients because not enough valid clinical studies are conducted on larger patients to determine the appropriate drug dosage.
Larger patients are putting a financial burden on hospitals as well. The Titan X, a special bariatric lifting device, costs approximately $18,000. Since heavier patients require more lifting power, hospitals will also need to hire more staff, provide more gurneys, and offer larger CT and MRI scanning machines.
As the obesity epidemic becomes worse, it is essential that hospitals become fully prepared to deal with obese and superobese patients. Berger recommends providing adequate notification to receiving hospitals about patients’ weight, transporting patients to hospitals equipped for larger patients, requiring hospitals to have heavy-duty beds or have a procedure in place to obtain those beds within 24 hours’ notice, eliminating narrow doorways and corridors, and educating staff on preserving privacy for larger patients.
To learn more about Active Living Programs and how they can help you develop a healthy lifestyle, please visit www.ActiveLiving.info or e-mail Bhibha Das at bhibhad@hkusa.com.
Sources:
ABC News. September 26, 2007. Obesity threatens emergency services: Report. www.abcnews.go.com. Accessed October 8, 2007.
Berger, Eric. October 2007. Emergency departments shoulder challenges of providing care, preserving dignity for the “super obese.” Annals of Emergency Medicine 50(4).
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