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Miami Rescue Vehicles Adapted for Obese Patients

MIAMI, FL – Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials received the emergency dispatch: a man in Southwest Miami-Dade was having trouble breathing.

One fact complicated the otherwise routine call.

The man weighed about 750 pounds.

But rescue workers had a solution for an emergency that would have once forced emergency workers to build an improvised stretcher or in some extreme cases bring a patient to the hospital in a flatbed truck.

This year, the department retrofitted three rescue trucks as bariatric transport units – with a special ramp and lift system that allows them take people up to 1,100 pounds to the hospital.

’’Over the years we’ve noticed we’ve been responding to an increasing number of patients who are quite heavy, for certain in excess of 500 pounds,’’ the maximum weight on the department’s current stretchers said Lt. Eddy Ballester, a fire rescue spokesman.

Across the country, 34 percent of American adults are obese.

’’Obesity prevalance in the United States has increased dramatically over the past several decades,’’ said Karen Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 23 percent of Floridians are obese, according to the CDC.

That’s up about 10 percent from 1990, when about 13.5 percent of Floridians were obese.

Using grants, the Miami-Dade department spent about $35,000 to retrofit the bariatric units, purchase the stretchers and install the system used to lift the patient inside.

’’Not only is this going to prevent injuries to firefighter-paramedics but it will allow a more rapid response,’’ Ballester said.

Over the years, numerous firefighters have suffered back sprains and strains from lifting obese patients, he said. The modified units also allow patients to be moved more quickly and in a dignified manner.

’’Historically it has taken longer for obese patients,’’ Ballester said. ``Sometimes we’d call a Home Depot to get one-inch plywood to support them.’‘

Since the beginning of the year, the special units have been used for about a dozen calls for patients weighing more than 500 pounds.

The units are also used for regular calls.

The stretcher has a special platform that attaches to the top, giving it a 10-inch wider surface area than other stretchers. Specially designed handles make for easier maneuvering.