BC Mobile Medical Unit sets up shop outside UHNBC's Emergency Department    250News photo

Prince George, BC –  Built for the 2010 Winter Olympics, BC's Mobile Medical Unit pulled into UHNBC's Emergency Department parking lot for a 'test run', in preparation for its two week stint in the city during next year's 2015 Canada Winter Games.

Medical officials, technical staff, and the drivers involved in transporting the 'mini hospital on wheels' say today's set up has given them valuable insight into what needs to happen to properly prepare for the Games – from backing into the parking lot, to travelling with the unit in extremely cold weather.

MMU Clinical Operations Director, Peter Hennecke, says the unit spent the past four months in Kitimat – its longest useage to date – filling a void, while the hospital's emergency department was renovated.  He says the winter conditions meant some special considerations in terms of insulating and heating the unit.  Today, the battery was extremely cold and the lights were not yet on in the unit.  When set up for the 2015 Games, the trailer will tap into the hospital's electrical system.

The MMU will not be used to treat athletes during the games – they will have their own unique clinic on the second floor of the Civic Centre.  The 'extension' of the Emergency Department will help handle extra traffic at the hospital anticipated by so many visitors in the city during the Games.  "Northern Health will actually prioritize what level of patient care they'll provide in here.  They'll figure that out over the next few months," says Hennecke.  There is an operating room in the unit, but all involved in the planning process say it's unlikely to be used as such in Prince George.  It's also been used as a maternity delivery room, with a number of babies born inside.  And a nursing station.

Hennecke says staff at UHNBC will receive training to familiarize them with the unique features of the unit.  "So, we'll just go through all the scenarios of code procedures, bringing a patient into a different area, getting staff used to the ramp that will go outside, working with BC Ambulance, so that they're familiar with the whole system.  We're really just preparing them so there's no surprises."

UHNBC Emergency Department Manager, Jim Fitzpatrick, says the plan, right now, is to have the mobile unit provide minor treatment care.

"However, the flexibility of the unit, is that it could be used for traumas, if something untoward happened – it's very flexible, that's one of the reasons we wanted it," says Fitzpatrick.  "So, we're planning for the worst, but hoping for the best."

Fitzpatrick says today's set up gave rise to a few parking/communication issues, but that was the point of the visit.  "We've learned some tricks there today, and we've looked at the ambulance service and they've looked at different ways to come in, so we've trial tested those issues and, really, that was the purpose of the visit."  He says, "We didn't want to have to be learning all this a day before the Games."

The mobile unit will being making its way back to its home base in Delta where some of the electronics will be upgraded and replaced before next year's deployment to Prince George.