Patients as Large as 800-Pounds Forcing Nebraska, Iowa Paramedics to Get Creative
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Paramedics are presented with different challenges everyday – but for workers in Nebraska and Iowa – they seem to be facing some even "bigger" challenges.
With obesity rates on the rise in those states, paramedics are scrambling to find ways to transport 400-pound, 600-pound and even 800-pound patients, The Omaha World-Herald reported.
Some fire departments, like Lincoln Fire & Rescue, are even looking into borrowing or buying special equipment such as construction cranes and forklifts. A few years ago, crews had to improvise and use a tarp to move an 800-pound patient.
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The latest statistics from 2008 show that 27 percent of the population in Nebraska and Iowa were obese and those numbers are up from 23 percent in 2005, according to a report by Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit group that focuses on preventive health.
As a result, the city of Omaha might buy a specially equipped ambulance that would make it easier to transport obese patients, which could cost the city more than $200,000.
Some fire departments are also considering purchasing heavy-duty stretchers, which can hold up to 1,600 pounds, compared with the standard 700 pounds.
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