Some lucky residents got a first-hand glimpse of BC’s unique Mobile Medical Unit at Queen Victoria Hospital earlier this week.
The MMU is a $5 million set of 75-foot tractor trailers that were originally purchased by VANOC for the 2010 Winter Games.
“The IOC required Whistler to have a surgical unit in Whistler,” said Registered Nurse Brandon James, adding that the optimal solution was to purchase what amounted to a mobile clinic.
Built in Chicago, Ill., by Oshkosh, the MMU has a suite of diagnostic imaging devices, a surgical bay and all of the scalpels, scissors, bandages and drugs you could want in one tractor-trailer that has expandable sides. The other trailer that accompanies the actual MMU carries medical supplies, generators and other equipment. After the Games the MMU was purchased by the province and acts as a portable backup to hospitals and clinics. Staffed, as required, by a doctor and four nurses it can also be swiftly deployed to disaster scenes. The MMU could have been useful in Alberta when floods ravaged that province this summer, but — surprisingly — there is no inter-provincial agreement on sharing this kind of resource.
It has most recently been deployed to Surrey, Pemberton and Penticton and is slated to go to Kitimat to provide a backup while that community’s hospital is undergoing some renovations.
Queen Victoria Hospital Manager Julie Lowes (left) talks with Zusana Driediger and Buck Corrigan of Revelstoke’s Search and Rescue unit in the hospital parking lot. Driediger and Corrigan had set up a table and were answering the questions of people attracted to the public display of medical technology in the province’s Mobile medical Unit. David F. Rooney photoThe Mobile Medical Unit is comprised of two tractor trailers. The one on the left is the support vehicle, which contains an office, staff lounge, two beds, tools, medical supplies and generators. The unit on the right contains a surgical suite, diagnostic imaging equipment and other devices. David F. Rooney photoThis shot shows the main space of the MMU. BC’s MMU is the only one of its kind in Canada and one of just five in North America. The other four are in the United States. David F. Rooney photoMayor David Rave, Councillor Gary Starling and Revelstoke’s Emergency Services Coordinator Simon Hunt were among the people who toured the unit on Tuesday morning. David F. Rooney photoMMU nurse Brandon James demonstrates how the unit’s training dummy can be used. The doll simulates several physiological behaviours. James said the MMU was originally purchased by VANOC for the 2010 Winter Games and was later acquired by the province. David F. Rooney photoRobin Gardner, the MMU’s logistical manager, talks about the supplies and tools — traffic cones, stop signs, flares, an axe and even a sledge hammer, as well as drugs, bandages, and other medical supplies. David F. Rooney photoTransceivers, headsets and other things in the supply truck. David F. Rooney photoThere is a tiny staff lounge/dining area in the logistics truck. It also contains two beds behind the driver’s compartment. David F. Rooney photo
