Bariatric Unit Conversions: Sizing Up the Problem

The growing problem of obesity in America and the related effect it has had on the Health Care delivery system are well known to those within the medical community.  The rate at which this problem has progressed has left residential care administrators and facility managers scrambling to upgrade their physical plants in order to adapt them to the special needs of obese patients.

In considering whether to create a discrete  bariatric unit, a key decision for any facility is whether to place a weight limit on the bariatric residents they will care for. The physical size of residents is directly related to the amount of renovation required to properly care for them. However, there is a basic, "minimum" amount of renovation required to establish a bariatric unit, regardless of a resident's weight.

The most basic alteration that needs to be made is to widen doorways in all areas accessible to bariatric residents. Bariatric residents require wider wheelchairs (usually 54" wide) and wider beds (48" or 54").  The retrofit approach most often taken is to install a pair of doors with one leaf at 44" wide and the other 18" wide. This configuration avoids the use of a single, unwieldy door while still creating a wide overall opening usable by bariatric residents.  A "basic" bariatric alteration also must include a tub room retrofit. Pier tubs are not practical for bariatric residents and most shower stalls are not large enough for their use. It is usually necessary to replace an existing shower/tub configuration with two oversized shower stalls.