According to the report, Three Rivers Ambulance Authority in Fort Wayne, Ind., has responded to more obese patients by replacing old stretchers, which only held around 300 pounds, to new stretchers that can hold as much as 700 pounds. The new stretchers can cost as much as $13,000 and may also require belt and strap extensions to accommodate larger patients.
Parkview Regional Health Center, set to open in Fort Wayne in 2012, will feature lifts above each bed capable of lifting 1,000 pounds. This change means larger patients can be lifted to another bed, turned from side to side or moved for treatment more easily.
Read the Indiana News Center report on obese patients and medical equipment.
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