Font Size

Sacramento Area Local News

E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Large Ambulance Popular For Local Obese Patients

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

Recipient E-mail:*
- Your Name:*
- Your E-mail:*
Add a Message:
Send me a copy of this e-mail.

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

Print Share + Comments

Jun 14, 2007 2:33 am US/Pacific

Large Ambulance Popular For Local Obese Patients

More Health News

by Dennis Shanahan
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: CBS

As America's waist line expands, so do the health care needs of obese patients. With that in mind, an ambulance company has added a specially equipped vehicle to its fleet in Sacramento.

"We've had clients that have requested this service," said Jason Sorrick of American Medical Response (AMR).

The new vehicle is a bariatric ambulance, designed to carry patients weighing up to 1,000 pounds.

"Prior to the bariatric unit," Sorrick explains, "the only types of systems you had in order to transport somebody of an obese size was literally maybe some sort of tarp, as well as maybe six to 10 individuals having to lift the individual into the ambulance."

In a traditional ambulance, obese patients would typically have to ride on the floor, but the bariatric unit comes with an oversized gurney and a motorized winch to pull the gurney into the vehicle. This cuts down the stress for both paramedics and patients.

"I mean, nobody wants to be carried on a tarp into the back of a floor ambulance to the hospital," says paramedic Martin Chavez. "I mean, just that alone would make people not want to go."

Sorrick adds, "This offers them an opportunity to get from their home, which for some could be be a prison for them...to get the care they need to become a more healthy individual."

AMR says the cost of transport runs about the same as a standard ambulance, but Medi-Cal doesn't reimburse as much of the cost for a bariatric transport. That's something the ambulance company is hoping the state will change.

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here

Your Name
Your E-Mail * Will not be displayed with comment
Suggest Link * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
Your Comment

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login

Password:

Forgot Password | Register Here

Close Window Flag Comment

You are flagging the following comment:

Username:
E-mail:
Reason:

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.