Leahy Announces $7 M. Contract For
St. Johnsbury Firm
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (TUESDAY, August 22) – Sen.
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Tuesday that Mobile Medical
International of St. Johnsbury will receive a $7.1 million contract
from the United States Army to develop further the firm’s advanced,
deployable medical shelters for use in combat zones. Leahy and Sen.
Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) worked to secure the contract for the St.
Johnsbury firm in the 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill.
Mobile Medical’s unique design for the 21st
Century Military Hospital System protects both medical personnel and
wounded soldiers from the threats faced in the field, such as
nuclear, biological and chemical agents. The units are designed to
allow medical teams in the field to choose an optimal configuration
to provide a variety of coverage, from triage and emergency room
care, to diagnostics and treatment or laboratory functions. The
self-contained units of the system integrate all primary systems
needed to operate the facility, including power, lighting, medical
gas and air filtration. The facilities can expand to support up to
500 beds in under 15 minutes.
The system will eventually replace the Army’s
current field hospital, know as the Deployable Medical Shelter (DEPMED),
which is being phased out of service. The 21st Century
Military Hospital System would have great utility in Afghanistan and
Iraq, where the U.S. military works to treat and evacuate personnel
quickly. The new field hospital system can be deployed close to a
combat zone.
“These new advanced medical units designed by
St. Johnsbury’s Mobile Medical are helping our men and women
overseas to effectively treat and assess injuries that years ago
would have been difficult to overcome on the battlefield,” said
Leahy, who visited Mobile Medical Tuesday morning. “In the last two
years, Senator Jeffords and I, joined by many of our colleagues in
the Senate, have advocated for funding to produce these
state-of-the-art deployable medical units. Mobile Medical is one of
the many Vermont companies working to ensure that our soldiers have
the right tools to protect and care for themselves overseas.”
“Mobile Medical International is doing a great
job of combining Vermont ingenuity with 21st Century
technology to meet current and future needs,” said Jeffords. “The
revolutionary 21st Century Military Hospital System and its new,
smaller, more mobile cousin will be great additions to the U.S.
military’s medical system. They will allow the military to move
medical assets faster and bring higher quality care closer to the
battlefield. I am very pleased that the US Department of Defense
has recognized the value of the 21 CMHS, and I look forward to the
time when this system becomes available for use in domestic
emergencies as well.”
“These units will provide forward surgical
teams and medical support teams with the same high quality
environment that has only been available in U.S. hospitals,” said
Rick Cochran, President and CEO of Mobile Medical. “This award and
previous awards were a direct result of strong support of these
health care systems and medical units from Senator Patrick Leahy and
Senator Jim Jeffords. Awards to date total in excess of $15 million
dollars.”
Mobile Medical specializes in mobile surgery
and diagnostic facilities. Leahy and Jeffords have secured funding
for Mobile Medical’s design and development of the new hospital
system in the 2005 and 2006 Defense Appropriations Bills.
Leahy is a senior member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee and of its Defense Subcommittee, which
oversees the Senate’s work in drafting the annual defense budget
bill.
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