FLARE’s In Our Image Database Connects Fat People with Accommodating Medical Imaging
[Image description: A photo of an MRI machine.]
By Ragen Chastain
You are never too big; the healthcare system is too small.
Structural weight stigma compromises the healthcare of higher-weight people by creating a healthcare system that fails to accommodate larger bodies, with the most harm done to those at the highest weights and those with multiple marginalized identities, including and especially creating disproportionate impact to People of Color. This includes failures to provide things like sturdy, wide, and/or armless chairs in waiting and treatment rooms; appropriately sized blood pressure cuffs; gowns; durable medical equipment; surgical tools; and more.
One type of weight stigma that can be life or death is lack of inclusive medical imaging equipment, including MRIs and CT scanners that have a high enough weight capacity and/or a wide enough bore to accommodate higher-weight patients. Higher weight capacity and larger bore machines do exist but, frustratingly, they don’t exist at every facility, and it can often be difficult to find out what facility has the equipment that a specific patient needs.
The lawyers at the Fat Legal Advocacy, Rights, and Education (FLARE!) Project know this firsthand. They’ve worked with patients desperately trying to find inclusive imaging, and the founder of FLARE! herself experienced weight stigma on two separate occasions when attempting to access medical imaging. Working with their Legal Fellow, Ragen Chastain of WeightandHealthcare.com, they are co-creating a solution with fat community.
FLARE’s In Our Image Database is a vetted compilation of facilities and machines that accommodate higher-weight people. The database includes important details like specific weight limits and bore sizes that can help a patient or provider determine if there is an accommodating option.
FLARE! recognizes that there are people for whom some or all of the options in this database will not be accommodating. This is unacceptable, unconscionable weight discrimination from the healthcare industry. We apologize to any and all who do not find accommodating options on this list and we, along with many others in the community, continue to fight for accommodation for all bodies in all aspects of healthcare.
The database currently focuses on MRIs. The next step is for the public to use the database, as well as to add to it including MRIs, CTs, X-rays, and more.
FLARE! wishes to thank Mary Lambert, Jen Rees, and Rayus Radiology for their major contributions to this project.
Find Imaging
You can find the database, organized by state, here.
Contribute to the database and help save lives
If you know of a facility that has a higher weight (300 or more pounds) and/or larger bore MRI (or CT, X-ray, or other imaging equipment) please fill out the form at the link below with whatever details you have. Thank you in advance for helping people get care that can be life changing and even life saving!
Volunteer
If you would like to volunteer to expand the database, please fill out the form below. Team FLARE! will teach you everything you’ll need to know to help build a resource that can save lives.
FLARE! is a project of Solovay Law. To learn more about FLARE!’s other work, visit flareproject.org and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
