Each week, EMT's respond to 911 calls and find patients who can be tough to transport - weighing more than 500 pounds.
Three months ago, Nashville's Fire Department installed 14 hydraulic stretchers into new ambulances to help easier lift patients.
As America's obesity problem continues to grow, some patients are getting heavier for emergency workers to lift.
Nashville now has a solution to our country's obesity problem - a hydraulic stretcher.
"The new hydraulics are taking a lot of that pressure off and allowing us to just go ahead and push the button and it lifts up the patient, pushes them right in and gently puts them down," advanced EMT Chelsea Kempchinsky said.
The stretchers can lift up to 700 pounds and promise to reduce the number of EMS personnel getting hurt on the job.
"Most of the injuries that occur to the EMS personnel are back injuries related to lifting and we're hoping through time and the use of these new power load systems, to decrease the number of times loss to back injuries and keep our crews safer," Commander Robert Mcalister said.
The number of obese children and adolescents in the U.S. rose to 124 million last year, more than 10 times higher than 40-years-ago.
It's not just overweight patients causing a strain. Nashville's booming population means a heavier volume of calls.
"Our call volume increases about 8 to 10 percent every year. We made about 95,000-plus calls last year and we anticipate that increases this year," Mcalister said.
Mcalister said the overall goal is to decrease the wear and tear on personnel bodies so they can have a longer, safer career helping their community.
A regular ambulance crew will respond to a 911 call and then they'll radio for a special ambulance if it's needed. These new hydraulic stretchers help eliminate that wait time.
The department currently has 14 hydraulic stretchers, each costing $37,000 and paid with the department's own funds.
Mcalister hopes to raise more funding down the road and install 14 more stretchers.
