KIRKLAND, Wash. , Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- BLU-MED Response Systems announced the successful deployment and set-up of a 30,000-square-foot Mobile Field Hospital (MFH) and Staff Housing complex for California Emergency Medical Services Authority's (CAL EMSA) 2008 Golden Guardian training exercise held November 11-15 . Set-up of the complex was completed ahead of schedule, underscoring its flexibility to provide rapid advanced trauma care to seriously injured victims of catastrophic disasters.
The 23,000-square-foot, 200-bed Mobile Field Hospital, one of three BLU-MED hospital packages purchased in 2007 by the EMSA, included an operating suite, intensive care units, mobile lab and radiology units, patient ward space and staff housing, and state-of-the-art mobile medical equipment. Together, the three fully equipped mobile hospitals constitute the largest civilian medical response facilities of their kind. The 7,000-square-foot Staff Housing facility ensures that medical professionals can be housed on-site in disaster environments.
BLU-MED supported CAL EMSA in showcasing the flexibility and medical triage and treatment capabilities of the mobile hospitals during a week of intensive training involving multiple state agencies and more than 400 emergency responders at March ARB in California . The exercise, one of the largest in California , tapped agencies and emergency responders from across the state, and tested the vendor-managed support contract with BLU-MED Response Systems.
The concept of operations for the Mobile Field Hospital program calls for three 200-bed vendor-managed, turn-key hospitals stored in three strategic locations throughout the state, allowing a rapid initial response to the affected area and a calculated secondary response where it is needed most. The mobile facilities can be on-site and ready to begin receiving patients within 72 hours of an event. They can be configured as 200-, 400- or 600-bed hospitals based on the need created by the disaster. The mobile facilities will be especially useful when regular hospitals are incapacitated or overwhelmed because of the scope of a disaster.
"We are pleased to have had another successful set-up at this year's Golden Guardian exercise," stated Gerrit Boyle , president of BLU-MED Response Systems. "The success of both Golden Guardian and last year's Rough & Ready exercises demonstrates our commitment to providing turn-key solutions to enhance disaster medical preparedness and community health services."
In addition to CAL EMSA, primary participants included the California Medical Assistance Teams, Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, the California Department of Public Health, California Highway Patrol, California's National Guard, the Office of Homeland Security, the Office of Emergency Services and more than 400 volunteer emergency responders.
About BLU-MED Response Systems
BLU-MED Response Systems provides turn-key, portable shelter-based solutions for disaster medical surge facilities, alternate command centers, temporary housing and base camp requirements. The company offers a full range of medical equipment packages and configuration options. BLU-MED support services include vendor-managed inventory options, field deployment, and training & exercise services.
BLU-MED facilities can be sized and customized to meet a variety of state and local public safety and public health response requirements. Modular options include medical surge wards, patient treatment, decontamination, immunization/drug distribution, negative pressure isolation, and field laboratory units. BLU-MED Response Systems is a division of Alaska Structures, Inc. For more information, see http://www.blu-med.com .
Contact: Gerrit Boyle 360-318-9913This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.
SOURCE BLU-MED Response Systems
