Ill. Fire Dept. Looks at Bariatric Lift

July 14--In the latest sign of America's ballooning waistline, the Elgin Fire Department wants to buy a mechanized ambulance lift that can hoist patients who weigh up to 700 pounds.

The system, which costs about $32,000, would cut down on the number of fire personnel needed to take a severely obese patient to the hospital, said Battalion Chief Bryan McMahan.

Such calls used to be rare but now come several times a month, he said, requiring as many as nine emergency responders, arriving in three vehicles, to lift the person into the ambulance.

"Sometimes we even have to call a fourth unit," McMahan said. "It just depends."

The system uses a pair of mechanical arms to lift the cot into the back of the ambulance. That should help save the backs and shoulders of responders who sometimes hurt themselves lifting obese patients, McMahan said. The department found that since 2010, those injuries have cost more than $329,000 in worker compensation claims.

Other fire departments have the gear, including Skokie. Fire Chief Ralph Czerwinski said all patients, large and small alike, are now lifted into ambulances mechanically.

"The troops just really love (the lifts)," he said. "They've worked out really well. They've had no mechanical issues at all."

The ambulances are following the lead of Illinois hospitals, which two years ago were compelled by state law to install "safe lifting equipment." Elgin's Presence St. Joseph Hospital has a sling that can hoist heavy patients in and out of bed, special inflating mattresses that can lift patients who have fallen on the ground and a bed capable of holding a person who weighs 1,000 pounds.

"There are a lot of nursing homes and even hospitals that don't have it yet, but they're definitely going to have to start providing the equipment," said Lavonne Jansen, St. Joseph's administrative coordinator.

The Elgin Fire Department's request for the mechanized lift system will come before the City Council on July 24.

jkeilman@tribune.com

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