A Fire Chief in Elgin, Illinois recently asked the city council for money so an ambulance could be upgraded to accommodate 700-pound patients.
Just like other aspects of a town's infrastructure, ambulances need to be constantly upgraded as well.
A Fire Chief in Elgin, Illinois recently asked the city council for money so an ambulance could be upgraded to accommodate 700-pound patients.
According to the chief - “Patients in the 250-to-300-pound range are fairly common, and those weighing 500 or more are becoming more prevalent.”.
He reported it will cost about 32 thousand dollars to retrofit one ambulance including modified interiors, stretchers, and lifting apparatus.
A former councilman confirmed the need stating that during his final year of service there was about a call a week to pick up patients weighting around 500 pounds.
Further support for the request included the mention of the American Medical Association’s declaration of obesity as a disease. In light of that designation, the writers of the submitted materials say they expect the problem to continue to become more prevalent.
The materials also stated the cots are not equipped to safely secure large patients and mentioned the strain on resources including the number of personnel needed to currently transport people over 500 pounds.
