MIDLAND, Texas — Midland Community Healthcare Services announced Thursday that they opened the door to a newly renovated exam room at the Coleman Clinic which now houses a bariatric treatment chair.
The bariatric chair is designed to be suitable for all patients. Allowing big and tall or overweight and obese patients to be safely treated for medical and dental procedures.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the only bariatric treatment chair in the region," MCHS Chief Operating Officer Rick Schoel said in a press release. “We looked into referring our very large framed patients out to another clinic but upon investigation, we could not find any clinic in the area which had a bariatric treatment chair."
MCHS found the manufacturer for the treatment chairs from England.
The chair enables patients who exceed the weight limit of an average dental chair, which is about 275 pounds, to have the best health care at the Coleman Clinic.
"We have many patients in the Permian Basin who work in the oil fields that are very big and tall," MCHS CEO Dr. Michael Austin said in a press release. "It is our mission at Midland Community Health to recognize the needs of the community in which we serve and offer accommodations for all."
According to MCHS, prior to acquiring the bariatric chair, a very large person who needed dental care had to travel out of town or to be admitted to the hospital to undergo general anesthesia for the treatment resulting in a costlier and medically risky situation for the patient.
Now, MCHS says you won't have to do that anymore.
"We look forward to meeting the demands of our community in new ways," MCHS Dentist Dr. Elliot Ayoub said.