News article about obese patients and hospitals

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone:

I've been out of the loop lately. Work is crazy, and well, so is

dating. Too many men!

Anyway, here's an article from yahoo about hospitals and obese

patients. I think it's interesting. Hope you do too...

ST. LOUIS - Going to the hospital is rarely fun. If you weigh over

300 pounds like Beth Henk, it can be embarrassing.

" I've flipped an exam table — I sat on the end of it and it just

flipped up, " said Henk, whose weight peaked at 745. When her son was

born three years ago, " I had to sit in the hospital bed the whole

time — the hospital's rocker wouldn't fit my butt. "

Today Henk helps -Jewish Hospital in St. Louis find better ways

to deal with the growing number of very obese patients, an issue for

many U.S. hospitals. -Jewish is replacing beds and wheelchairs

with bigger models, widening doorways, buying larger CT scan

machines, even replacing slippers and gowns.

Last year, patient care director Colleen Becker decided to check the

numbers. She looked at a daily hospital census — about one-third of

the 900 patients weighed 350 pounds or more.

Startled, Becker checked another date, then another. The numbers were

consistent. On some days, half the patients were obese. Some weighed

500 pounds or more.

" We ran the data again to make sure we weren't hallucinating, " Becker

said. " We weren't. So we had to somehow figure out the appropriate

supplies, equipment, training and care for the patients we're dealing

with. "

The answer was a " bariatric care team, " which Henk serves on, to

address the challenges posed by obese patients. Those challenges are

many.

Hospitals around the nation are working with equipment suppliers to

accommodate larger patients, said Lietz, a spokeswoman for

the American Hospital Association. And it's not just for the patients.

ATF Healthcare, a union representing 70,000 nurses and other workers

at hospitals in 18 states, last week called for new laws forcing

hospitals to buy equipment such as portable hoists to prevent worker

injuries.

A union-commissioned survey of more than 900 nurses and X-ray

technicians found the majority have chronic pain or have suffered

injuries from lifting and moving patients.

At -Jewish, lift machines help some patients get in and out of

bed. Chairs have been made stronger and wider. Lights have been added

at floor level because the bodies of extremely obese people can cast

a shadow that makes it hard to see the floor.

The hospital is replacing many of its beds — built to handle people

weighing up to 350 pounds — with beds for 500-pound patients.

" Three-hundred-fifty pounds is nowhere near what we need for beds

now, " said Art Kidrow, a nurse manager at -Jewish. " We've had

some 650-pounders up here. "

Some wings of -Jewish are replacing 36-inch-wide doorways with

those that are 48 or 52 inches wide. The bathrooms are being fitted

with floor-mounted commodes that can't be pulled out of the wall, and

rooms reconfigured so patients can essentially get out of bed and

step into the bathroom.

Gowns are bigger. Wheelchairs are wider. Even hospital-issued

slippers come in extra-large sizes because the standard-issued

footies were cutting off circulation for some patients.

Issues extend beyond the patient's room. Operating tables have been

widened because the girth of some patients was lapping over the

table, in some cases all the way to the floor, Becker said. CT scan

machines weren't wide enough. Syringes with the longest available

needles — 4 1/2 inches — couldn't penetrate the fat.

Along with doctors and nurses, the hospital's 30-member bariatric

care team includes former patients like Henk and people from the

hospital's engineering and housekeeping units.

Henk, 41, represents both patients and those who try to help the

obese — she is program manager for Washington University's weight

management program.

She's been heavy for as long as she can remember — she was in Weight

Watchers by age 5. " Everybody in my family is at least 100 pounds

overweight, " she said.

Gastric bypass surgery seven years ago helped her shed some weight,

but she's dropped to 315 pounds mostly through better eating and

exercise.

Still, she knows what larger people go through at the hospital.

" I believe in dignity for whomever you are, " Henk said. " It can be

scary, too. If people are trying to lift you up and somebody doesn't

have the strength, it's very scary. "

Based on recommendations from the team, -Jewish has developed a

protocol for lifting heavy patients.

The hospital is also working with suppliers. Manufacturers now offer

more than 1,000 items specifically for obese patients, said Sandy

Wise, of Novation LLC, a Texas-based company that provides

contracting services between hospitals and manufacturers.

" It's been a trend probably for the last four or five years, " Wise

said. " Hospitals are continuing to see an increase in obese patients,

and it affects every department. You have to think of the patient

from head to toe, everything they do in the hospital until they walk

out the door or they die. "

In fact, -Jewish is striving to make even the end more

dignified. Becker said the law requires a leak-proof body bag. Some

patients were so large they wouldn't fit in them. The hospital is

working with a vendor to develop a wider bag.