Bariatric Facility Background
A Bariatric facility is a certified center of excellence given to insurance carriers, clinics, and hospitals after accreditation. The centers usually cater for bariatric surgery, which involves medical procedures to help people lose weight. Accredited medical entities operating as bariatric facilities have often undergone rigorous vetting, inspection, and bariatric reporting processes. It is after such inspection that a hospital or medical center becomes a Center of Excellence (COE) hospital. Certain types of medical equipment and facility technology also have to be specially made for bariatric patients. Also, minimum bariatric patient cases have to be maintained in annual tallies (Mitchell & De Zwaan, 2012).
Essential Environmental Elements
A bariatric facility has to meet some standards and requirements in the environmental design. These conditions are demanded due to the unique nature of bariatric procedures. Since they can be taken in emergency rooms, nursing or doctor’s units, the facilities must be bariatric specific. For one, there should be patient sensitivity environmental designing in these facilities. Space should make bariatric patients feel comfortable as they move and walk around. The seating furnishing should have endoscopies for surgery patients. The seats and resting benches should however not be alienating. These should be designed in a way that the bariatric patients and their families, friends or minders comfortably integrate into a single sitting.
The constructability should be made in a way that hosts the patients, minders, and hospital staff comfortably. For example, handle, grab, and rail bars should have reinforced steel in the wall to hold them into place. Also, the toilet rooms should have enough navigation space for assisted usage. Most important, the environment should not intimidate the patients or make them feel singled out from other people around them. The medical equipment used should also be bariatric specific to accommodate extra weight and size of the patients. Examination and operation tables, beds, wheel chairs, scales, and lifts should be bariatric sensitive to support heavier patients. This is important for seamless, convenient and easy mobility and patient rest.
Facility Equipment and Technology Use
Facility equipment use in a bariatric center involves furnishing, design and environmental systems, which aid in accommodating the patients. The facilitation might not be directly related to the medical treatment of the patient, but have an indirect influence. For example, bariatric patients tend to perspire a lot after movement or in high temperatures than non-bariatric patients. Having open and proper air conditioning and ventilation windows would, therefore, aid in keeping the patient in a better condition. Others such as bari-sensitive toilets, bathrooms, beds and chairs ensure that the patients not only stay comfortable, but also maintain their dignity. This is very critical for the psychological well-being of the patients. Mobility is also eased by having faster and easier patient movement (Thompson & Ryan, 2013).
Technology in the bariatric care involves diagnostic imaging systems and other bari-specific equipment. An imaging system for the patients would require systems with custom bore size, operating table capacities and imaging projection quality. This would need to be linked with compatible closed magnetic resonance (MR) scanners. The MRI and other CT scanners used are supposed to be made with the more open configuration, which suits obese patients. Also, it is applied in radiation therapy units where extremely obese patients require bariatric capable units. Measuring blood pressure of bariatric patients would also not be adequately handled by standard blood pressure technology in obese patient treatment. This would require extra cuffs and adjustment of other accessories to ensure they fit the circumference of the patient’s arm.
References
Mitchell, J. & De Zwaan, M. (2012). Psychosocial assessment and treatment of bariatric surgery patients. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Thompson, C. & Ryan, M. (2013). Bariatric endoscopy. New York: Springer.
