Local health & fire departments team up for mobile hospital

JACKSON, Tenn. — A local health department and fire department partner up in a project that could help save lives in West Tennessee.

The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department and Madison County Fire Department have rolled out a mobile hospital.

The partnership means easy access for first responders to bring medical treatment to patients faster, especially during natural disasters.

It even comes with necessary medical equipment for small surgical procedures. Up to 40 patients can be treated at a time in pop-up medical tents.

“Fire departments are used to responding at a moment’s notice, so having that equipment on trucks, where they can get on the scene a lot quicker and get set up, that allows medicine or EMS in the hospital to do their duties outside of there, and we can get patient care quicker,” Madison County Fire Chief Eric Turner said.

First responders have been able to treat about 500 patients using the mobile field hospital in the last 10 years.