Mobile emergency unit to deliver services at Columbus Regional Hospital

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Governor Mitch Daniels, Congressman Mike Pence and Columbus Regional Hospital Chief Executive Officer Jim Bickel said today the mobile emergency room unit Carolinas MED-1 is on its way to Indiana to provide emergency and other medical services at the Columbus Regional Hospital.

“This is important for Columbus residents. Thanks to Congressman Pence for learning about this possibility and to all who helped bring it here so quickly,” said Daniels. The state Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health, and Family and Social Services Administration have worked with Columbus Regional Hospital and officials in North Carolina to bring the unit here and expedite its arrival.

Columbus Regional has been closed since June 7, when flooding forced the evacuation of nearly 160 patients and caused damage to the hospital’s basement and first floor. All emergency medical patients in Bartholomew County are currently being transported to hospitals in nearby counties. Hospital officials hope to reopen the emergency department by early August.

The mobile unit, which is based at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, is on its way to Indiana. After arrival and set up, hospital officials anticipate they will begin providing patient care sometime on Monday.

“I am relieved that this temporary emergency room is coming to Columbus. All credit goes to Jim Bickel of the Columbus Regional Hospital and to Governor Mitch Daniels. Their partnership in obtaining this facility for south central Indiana will save lives,” said Pence.

The Carolinas MED-1 mobile hospital is housed in two 53-foot tractor-trailers. One is a patient care facility that expands to provide nearly 1,000 square feet of indoor treatment space to deliver life-saving treatments and comprehensive medical-surgical care. It includes six critical care beds, seven general beds and one dental chair. It has level-1 trauma center capabilities, a full pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and ultrasound services and diagnostic capabilities.

MED-1 staff, which includes physicians, nurses, and other provider and support staff, will train Columbus Regional Hospital staff in the use of the mobile unit so local medical staff will provide the services.

“Relocating this temporary unit to Columbus means our community doesn’t have to wait on emergency care until the building is restored,” said Bickel. “Once on site, it is our people who make high quality care possible and this unit gives our doctors and staff at Columbus Regional Hospital the ability to resume important emergency care in Columbus. We’ll all breathe easier knowing that emergency services are once again available within the community.”

Among deployments, MED-1 was utilized during Hurricane Katrina. Indiana has worked out an agreement for the mobile unit to come to Columbus through a multi-state agreement known as the Emergency Medical Assistance Compact. Patients will be billed for service by emergency physicians and the hospital.

More information about MED-1 can be found at http://www.carolinasmed-1.org/ and updates about Columbus Regional Hospital at www.crh.org