Have you all Noticed
My rescue squad just bought a new ambulance. I voiced loud and long that it should be set up for bariatric transport. The officers countered that it's easier and cheaper to page the fire department for lifting assistance. Grrrrrrrr.
They didn't even get a new regular stretcher for the unit, and we have to use a 30 year old POS pulled from deep storage whenever that truck runs. Short-sighted jerks.
They didn't even get a new regular stretcher for the unit, and we have to use a 30 year old POS pulled from deep storage whenever that truck runs. Short-sighted jerks.
I was a Vol. Fire fighter for 5 years and the time we had to assist rescue with transporting a 700 ib. woman still is vivid in my mind. A winch and heavy duty stretcher would have been nice. We had a tarp and two back boards set up like a ramp. That's a memory I will never forget. The need for such equipment is becoming a necessity. The guys on the dept. use to joke with me that if I went down in a fire they were going to use the truck to pull me out. Hoping to be back on in Oct. the weight wont be an issue this time.
I read that there are something like 40 of those "jumbo ambulances" now in use in the U.S., or some such, a while back .. They are NOT cheap, costing like several $100K apiece .. 
But then that's part of the increasing health costs of obesity in the U.S. Fox News had a major article on this topic this past Monday a.m., covering a major study that had just been released. I posted about it earlier on TT We now spend almost 10% of our health care expenses on obesity and obesity-related (i.e. co-morbids) treatment. Those costs are like $140 billion a year, double more than they were like 10 years ago or so .. Obese persons spend over $1,400.00 more a year on health care costs than the non-obese population does.
But then that's part of the increasing health costs of obesity in the U.S. Fox News had a major article on this topic this past Monday a.m., covering a major study that had just been released. I posted about it earlier on TT We now spend almost 10% of our health care expenses on obesity and obesity-related (i.e. co-morbids) treatment. Those costs are like $140 billion a year, double more than they were like 10 years ago or so .. Obese persons spend over $1,400.00 more a year on health care costs than the non-obese population does.
Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
OH used to list the approximate # of its members on the opening page of the site somewhere, Unitedude .. At least it was there before the "upgrade" last year .. That should be a current estimate (at least when it was put there), b/c, as I found out, nobody truly "unsubscribes" from OH .. All OH does is allow them to "deactivate" their account, which means they are still a member, just can't post or send/receive PMs until and unless they "reactivate" .. That way OH's "membership" only continues to grow -- neat marketing trick, eh? 
btw, IIRC, the figure was 300,000 .. doe anyone else remember that #?
btw, IIRC, the figure was 300,000 .. doe anyone else remember that #?
Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
Damn that's a lot... That is way more than I imagined.. Thanks. Now how to get every member to donate 1.00 to me.. hahaMost Active
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