DNC Attendees to Benefit from Prototype Mobile Hospital

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With recent attention focused on Hurricane Isaac and its impact on the Gulf Coast and the Republican National Convention, a Carolinas HealthCare System mobile hospital that “earned its stripes” treating victims of Hurricane Katrina will be deployed during the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.


Carolinas MED-1, a first-of-its-kind prototype mobile hospital, will be conveniently placed near key DNC venues to provide treatment to any delegates or official visitors who need urgent or emergent healthcare. The main treatment vehicle is a 53-foot trailer with three expandable “pods” that create 1000 square feet of patient care space totaling 14 beds, including a two-bed operating room.

The mobile facility has been deployed four times: In 2005 to Waveland, Miss., just days after Hurricane Katrina; in 2006 to New Orleans, La., to provide support during the city’s first Mardi Gras following Katrina; in 2008 to Columbus, Ind., following flooding that crippled the city’s only hospital; and in 2011 to Phoenix, Ariz., to assist a Native American hospital that temporarily closed for renovations. For additional information on MED-1, including “green energy” technologies that will allow it to be more self-sufficient during a disaster deployment visit www.med1green.org.

Carolinas MED-1 is just one aspect of a comprehensive program of trauma services provided by CHS, the nation’s second largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system.

CHS currently is home to the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, the F.H. “Sammy” Ross Jr. Trauma Center at Carolinas Medical Center, which is the highest designation given by the American College of Surgeons. Additionally, CHS offers five other designated Level II and Level III Trauma Centers. Other urgent and emergent care services include:

  • 37 Emergency Departments, 4 of them free standing
  • 22 Urgent Care Centers
  • More than 1,225,000 emergency patients treated in 2011, including approximately 4,500 trauma patients
  • More than 650 care locations throughout North and South Carolina
  • 33 Hospitals

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Posted September 5, 2012

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