In a sad turn of affairs, it appears that many hospitals across the United States are preparing for the rising rates of obesity in the population by updating their resources in order to accommodate patients who are now too large for standard furniture and equipment.
Before looking at the specific changes hospitals are making, consider this: obesity is now an epidemic across the country. In the past 20 years, we have seen a dramatic increase of this condition, which is threatening the health of many citizens — and the resources of our health care system.
In fact, according to The Obesity Society, currently as much as 64% of the U.S. population is considered to be either overweight or obese (over 97 million adults). This is an absolutely staggering statistic for the country, as obesity is the precursor for a plethora of illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, certain forms of cancers, sleep apnea, stroke, and osteoarthritis, to name only a small handful.
Obesity accounts for 300,000 premature deaths in the U.S. alone, which is truly a sad statistic, since most cases could have been prevented with weight loss via a healthy diet and exercise.
A person is considered to be overweight if he/she has a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is between 25 and 29.9. A person is considered to be obese if he/she has a BMI that is 30 and over. BMI is determined by measuring a person’s height in relation to his/her weight. (To find out your BMI, you can visit http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/923520512.html.)
To accommodate the rising number of obese patients visiting hospitals, many health facilities have had to update their resources. The epidemic is not only costing the country in terms of a heavier strain on resources, such as cancer and cardiac care, but now its health care system has to make way for facilities that accommodate a rise in patients’ larger girth and weight.
The main reason for why many hospitals are expanding is to include a bariatric division. (Bariatric surgery includes such procedures as gastric bypass and stomach stapling, along with nutritional counseling.) To offer these kinds of procedures, hospitals must include wider doorways (as the 42-inch standard size), a ceiling lift system to help move patients (which can hold up to 1,000 pounds), and even extra-sturdy and mounted toilets and oversized beds.
Such costly expansions are becoming more necessary, as the number of bariatric surgeries performed per year has quadrupled since 2000, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery reports. Due to demand, more hospitals across the U.S. are starting to specialize in bariatrics in order to meet this growing demand — and it’s not cheap. For example, a special large recliner costs about $15,000 and a lift can tens of thousands of dollars.
The overall cost of these changes and their repercussions are impossible to measure (Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida, for example, just shelled out $500,000 for 78 of its employees who were injured moving obese patients) — but know that they are high.
Also know that inevitably the rising rates of obesity will cause a severe strain on our health care system, which may not be sustainable. So instead of becoming part of the problem, become part of the solution — get moving, eat a sensible diet, and shed those extra pounds.
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