Today’s hospitals are geared up for this age of obesity, with super-sized equipment, surgical tools and furniture, according to an article on the Louisville Courier-Journal website.
Many have wide doors, larger-than-average rooms and floor-mounted toilets.
“The patient population that we’re treating – whether it’s in bariatric surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics – all of these specialties are having to cope with special needs because of obesity,” Dr. Jeffrey Allen, medical director for bariatric Services at Norton Healthcare, said in the article. “Even the chairs in the waiting room are bigger, not just for patients but for their families.”
Novation, a healthcare supply chain analytics and contracting company, found that making all renovations necessary to accommodate morbidly obese patients cost $100,000 at one hospital and $2.3 million at another.
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