By Cornelius Frolick
Dayton Daily News
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio — Unable to fit obese patients on standard gurneys, paramedics and emergency medical technicians often have to improvise, sometimes placing them on tarps or tying together multiple stretchers to create a transport of sufficient size.
Deborah Anderson-Gold, director of the bariatric service line at Miami Valley Hospital, said providing care and treatment to morbidly obese patients often requires the teamwork of several emergency response units, leaving fewer crews to respond to other emergencies.
Using grant money and funding from philanthropic organizations, Rob’s Rescue, an initiative that will be part of the Greene County Community Foundation, hopes soon to outfit one of Beavercreek Fire Department’s ambulances with a cable and ramp system to help lift morbidly obese patients into the unit, said Rich Schultze, the chair of the group.
Full Story: Obese patients force medics to improvise lifting methods