January 28, 2022 – Atrium Health and its Mobile Medicine recognized a historic milestone for Atrium Health MED-1, the health system’s state-of-the-art emergency department on wheels. The mobile hospital marked 365-days of being deployed to Atrium Health Pineville on Saturday, January 22, the longest self-deployment in MED-1 history.
As COVID-19 surges have created capacity challenges for hospitals across the nation, Atrium Health deployed MED-1to help treat less critical patients, providing added bed space at its Pineville hospital. Located in South Mecklenburg County and given its proximity to the South Carolina border, Atrium Health Pineville provides convenient access to high-quality care to patients throughout the region, according to a release.
“Knowing we have a resource like Atrium Health MED-1 in our system, that was able to deploy and do so quickly, gives me a sense of pride that we were able to help come together and use our resources to better serve our community,” said Alicia Campbell, facility executive at Atrium Health Pineville. “The value of having a mini-hospital come set up, and do it so quickly, it’s difficult to put into words and is nothing less than impressive.”
Atrium Health MED-1 has been stationed near the emergency department to help treat a number of illnesses, including but not limited to rashes, ear pain, lacerations and minor sprains. Although patients suspected of having COVID-19 are not treated in the mobile hospital, the additional 14 beds have been especially helpful during busy times, such as while the Delta and Omicron variants have driven patient census numbers to capacity. The additional emergency room space allows continued treatment of other, non-critical patients while the emergency department handles the COVID surge.