Posted on 07/28/2002 8:59:46 AM PDT by aomagrat
Lynette Sightler knew she had trouble when she saw the doorway to the bathroom of her South Carolina Medical University Hospital room. The 5'4" 523-pound woman - who just had bariatric surgery to lose weight - didn't even want to attempt to fit through the door.
Eventually, she had no other choice.
"They put a towel over my incision so I could squeeze through the doorway," Sightler said.
Once inside, she hesitated using the wall-mounted toilet for fear her weight would bring it crashing down.
"I was afraid to be humiliated," she said. "I cried every time I had to go to the bathroom."
Sightler, who lives outside Columbia in Gaston with her husband, wrote about her July 2000 surgery experiences on a national obesity support group Web site in an effort educate others.
Medical University Hospital Surgeon Dr. Karl Byrne showed the former patient's comments to hospital officials and sparked a discussion that reflects one taking place in many medical centers throughout the country.
With the growing obesity epidemic, how can hospitals better accommodate severely overweight patients?
"It has to do with patient comfort and safety ... and for patient dignity," said Byrne, who performs bariatric surgery on obese patients who can weigh as much as 1,200 pounds.
Obese patients seeking medical help are nothing new. But the_number of severely obese patients, who usually have to lose 100 pounds or more, is increasing, forcing hospitals to change their ways."It's beginning to be an issue everywhere. The rate of obesity is skyrocketing," said Dr. Patrick O'Neil, director of MUSC's Weight Management Center.
In 1999, 61 percent of adults were considered overweight or obese, compared with 47 percent two decades ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
When hospitals can't accommodate patients, "it makes us feel like freaks," said Sightler.
For years, most hospitals rented special equipment, such as a larger bed, to accommodate the occasional larger patient.
Now, hospitals are beginning to make permanent changes. A hospital in Tampa recently hired a six-man "lift team" to move obese patients safely, relieving nurses of the heavy job. Clinic waiting rooms are being filled with more chairs without armrests for any size figure. Hospitals offer larger gowns and wider wheelchairs.
Some are upgrading operating room tables. During the last year and half, MUSC added two operating room tables that hold up to 1,000 pounds. Each cost $38,000.
In the next month, MUSC plans to renovate a few hospital rooms to include larger doorways, showers, toilets and beds, Byrne said.
"I'm glad to hear that," said Sightler, 33, who now weighs 358 pounds and is six months pregnant.
The cost of changing four standard rooms into two larger rooms is estimated at $240,000, said Sandra Wade, the medical center's director of facility management.
Nearby, CareAlliance Health Services is adding more equipment, making Roper and Bon Secours St. Francis hospitals less reliant on rental gear.
Beth Fleming, Roper Hospital senior nurse executive, submitted a proposal for more than $50,000 worth of equipment for obese patients, such as two bigger beds, two portable lifts, wider wheelchairs and larger blood pressure cuffs. The hospital's capital committee will consider her request during its meeting this week.
Fleming pointed to a recent employee survey as another factor to be considered, stating many medical workers worry about the risk of moving larger patients. Back injuries from lifting patients lead to missed work and medical expenses, expensive costs hospitals want to avoid. Fleming helped create a lift team, made up of workers from various departments, to examine the issue.
Emergency medical workers are responding to more calls from severely obese people, as well.
"We have several calls a week where the patient weighs 400 pounds or more. We don't believe we had that 20 years ago," said Cliff Parker, Charleston County Emergency Medical Services safety officer and president of South Carolina Emergency Medical Services Association.
Manufacturers now market stretchers to hold up to 600 pounds, up from 300 pounds years ago. Many EMS crews use a soft canvas style stretcher to haul heavier patients instead of the standard plastic stretcher. Paramedics call in the fire department when extra bodies are needed to lift a patient. Constant lifting leaves some paramedics with severe back injuries each year, Parker said.
In a crisis, medical workers sometimes need to be creative. Earlier this year, paramedics used a crane to get a woman out of her second-floor apartment. The hallway and stairs appeared too difficult for the EMS crew and the 600-pound woman, Parker said.
"We have ongoing issues with moving patients," he said.
Greenville County Emergency Medical Services brings in "The Door," a solid wooden door with handles attached to the side, to carry some severely obese patients, said Bill Marcley, Greenville County EMS department of safety coordinator.
MUSC Meducare's ambulance crews try to get 24-hour notice on moving patients 350 pounds or larger so they can plan ahead, said Robert L. Winn Jr., the ground team supervisor.
Some limitations remain. The patient weight capacity on the Meducare helicopter is 350 pounds, said Rich Cooper, flight paramedic. Heavier patients must rely on ambulances.
Former MUSC patients who wrote on the obesity support group Web site recently gave the hospital rave reviews for its efforts to accommodate their needs.
"This has been really patient-driven," Byrne said.
At the risk of souding overly insensitive.....
Gee, you are....
NeverGore
No comment. (5'4" and 523-pounds? There has to be more then over eating to this story)
a.cricket
I have never been in a hospital that did not have larger doors than most houses.
What are the doors like in this woman's house?
At the risk of souding overly insensitive.....
"Sightler, 33, who now weighs 358 pounds and is six months pregnant."
I wonder are there negative effects to the baby when the mother is pregnant at 358 pounds?
I guess it's not!
Oh that's cold.
What are the doors like in this woman's house?
That was exactly my thought. What the heck kind of construction and plumbing does she have at her home??!! Sorry, but about 200 lbs. ago she should have thought about fitting through doorways and not breaking porcelain pots!
Who is being charged for these hospital renovations? The Fat-Ward or everyone who gets care there?
At 1,200 pounds (or other whalish sum), dignity should be the least of that person's worries.
Yeah, and when I was single, cute, and weighed 120 lbs. I had trouble getting a date...what's up with THAT!!!
Yeah, I'd say they lost the "dignity" thing hundreds of pounds earlier.
There are people with real health problems that cause obesity, but for he most part it is laziness and lack of self control. Most of these people have no one to blame but themselves, and I hate to hear them cry about it.
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