TORONTO (Reuters) - Obese patients in Calgary, Alberta, are the first in Canada to have a new ambulance on call specially modified to move them in a dignified and safe way while protecting paramedics from injury.
The so-called "bariatric response team" is called in when the patient weighs between 400 pounds (181 kilograms) and 1,000 pounds (453 kg).
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The ambulance has C$30,000 worth ($27,915) of modifications by a California-based company, including a hydraulic lift.
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Lapointe says he hopes Calgary's new ambulance will ensure that there will never be shocking images of obese patients being transported by trucks, as in the United States.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070622/wl_canada_nm/canada_canada_obesity_col_2What really hit me here was that this very necessary vehicle--customized by a California company, by the way-- is available from "socialist" Canadian medicine, but apparently not here in the U.S.