Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are extremely obese. According to the American Ambulance Association, this has created a demand for transport from the homes of the patients to the hospital on a frequent basis. This is usually a job done by EMS workers, who are given the daunting task of lifting the patient into the back of the ambulance for transport. It is simply impossible to safely lift these patients into an ambulance without risking the well being of the EMS workers.
"You'd have to have five to 10 different firefighters lift it up. It was unsafe for our units. There would be many physical problems for our crews," said Josh Weiss, a spokesman for Southwest Ambulance. "Back injuries would often occur."
Many ambulance companies, hospitals, & fire departments have seen an increase in injuries & accidents to their workers due to having to lift these larger patients into the back of the ambulance. This has cost them thousands of dollars in workers compensation costs as well as lost productivity on the job.
"If we had the right equipment, two people could handle the heavier people," said Mark Swartz, an EMT in New York City.
A labor leader in New York, Mark Rosenthal, wants to force New York area hospitals, ambulances and nursing homes to buy costly new equipment to accommodate people over 500 lbs. (He wants either the hospitals or the government to pay for it). Mark Rosenthal is about 450 lbs. so he's talking about his own personal experience, including when he had a stroke recently and his hospital didn't have a bed to fit him.
Handi-Ramp came up with just the solution for the problem at hand; their ambulance ramp system.
This medical ramp system is comprised of; a pair of 1500 lb capacity channel track ramps with anti-slip tape and inherent wheel guide, a 12 volt 3000 lb capacity winch, a 1500 lb capacity block & tackle, a pair of cordura tow straps, and an MX-Pro 1600 lb capacity bariatric gurney. This system allows EMS workers to load a patient into the ambulance without having to lift, pull, or push at all. The winch and gurney do all the work and the patient is then not jostled by being lifted.
The ramps themselves are made of durable, extruded aluminum tracks with an inside diameter of 6". There are no difficult to manipulate buttons or telescoping parts to get caught on. The simplicity of this system makes it so effective. There is no lifting of the gurney, which in many cases can pose the problem of it tipping over. Every aspect of this system makes it comfortable and safe for the patient and the EMS technicians.
Package Specs -
Strong Extruded Aluminum Ramps with 1500 lb capacity
Available in 10',11' or 12' long
Easy to use straight ramps
2 inch safety curb to keep gurney on tracks
3000 lb capacity 12 volt winch
1500 lb capacity block & tackle
1" x 3' cordura straps (pair)
Mx Pro 1600 lb capacity gurney
http://www.handiramp.com/
