The bariatric population — typically defined as patients having a body mass index of 40 or higher — isn’t an afterthought in new hospital design, according to an article in The New York Times website.
“Most hospitals we are building are providing an increasingly larger percentage of rooms that can accommodate the larger person,” Nancy Connolly, a senior executive at Hammes Company, said in the article. “In the last five to 10 years, maybe two rooms could accommodate them. Now, 15 to 20 percent of rooms can accommodate them.”
Obese patients need for larger and sturdier beds and wheelchairs and other heavy-duty equipment.
Each of the new Parkland Hosptal’s 273-square-foot rooms was designed to more effectively treat heavier patients, starting with the six-foot-wide door openings.
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