From extended blood pressure cuffs to roomier exam chairs and wider terry cloth hospital slippers, healthcare facilities are adapting to larger patients as America's obesity rate climbs, according to an article on The Republic website.
Patient care, from the operating table to the MRI unit, has to accommodate bigger patients, the article said. If a chair were to collapse, a larger patient could get hurt and feel humiliated.
"When a patient sits down, they need to know they'll be safe," said Kathy O'Donnell, a nurse and manager of the Midwest Bariatric Institute at Franciscan St. Margaret Health hospital in Dyer, Ind.
"As we revamp all of our physicians' offices and same-day surgery center, we're designing it around bigger weight limits, because we know that the population now is much larger than it was 25 years ago," she said.
That means sturdier waiting room chairs, wider wheelchairs and floor-mounted toilet bowls. Wall-mounted toilets are easier to clean, but they cannot support as much weight as a toilet braced by the floor, she said.
The hospital also has a system to differentiate equipment and gowns made for larger patients and can choose it without embarrassing patients.
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