When St. Joseph's Hospital unveiled its new emergency room in July, officials touted its modern additions, from bedside ultrasound machines to cellphone charging stations. But the new feature that says even more about American health care? A treatment room for obese patients, complete with a larger bed, floor-mounted commodes and scales and a lift that can hoist a person weighing nearly 1,000 pounds. It's the latest example of how hospitals here and elsewhere are investing in design and equipment that can better serve the increasing number of severely obese patients while also protecting health care workers from injury due to lifting these patients.
