Mobile Medical surgical units sent to Joplin, Missouri

In the wake of natural disaster in Joplin, Missouri, Rick Cochran, owner of Mobile Medical International Corporation (MMIC), authorized MMIC staff to dispatch Mobile Surgery Units to St John’s Medical Center to help keep the damaged hospital’s surgical capability operational.

The first Mobile Surgery Unit arrived on-site in Joplin on Friday, May 27 and by Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th the first surgery had already been performed in the unit.  A second Mobile Surgery Unit was delivered on Tuesday, May 31st with additional medical readiness equipment being considered for delivery in early June.  

The deployment of the tractor trailer-sized state-of-the-art surgical units came within days of Rick’s being named by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as 2011 National Small Business Person of the Year in Washington, DC. 

“Dr. Charles Ro, the first St. John’s surgeon to perform surgery in MMIC’s Mobile Surgery Units, said, “During the two weeks since the tornado, MMIC got these units set up so quickly – the units are amazing.  We understand these are just temporary structures, a work in progress, but they certainly can be used as more permanent structures.” 

“It has been a tremendous honor to be recognized nationally for the work we do at MMIC, said Rick Cochran. “It has been equally meaningful to me, and to our MMIC employees, to be able to help St John’s Hospital continue to offer high-quality medical care to the population of Joplin, Missouri during such a terrible natural disaster.”  

In making the announcement during National Small Business Week in Washington, DC on May 20th, SBA Administrator Karen Mills stated, “The innovation, inspiration and determination shown by Rick Cochran and his employees have elevated his company, Mobile Medical International, to a level that is above and beyond the norm.  These are the qualities that make small businesses such a powerful force for job creation in the American economy and in their local communities. Rick had a dream and he persisted – creating jobs, winning the loyalty of his team, and filling a need in the marketplace that has taken Mobile Medical from his basement to a worldwide stage.” 

MMIC manufactures state-of-the-art mobile healthcare units and military shelter systems for commercial, military and emergency response applications world-wide.   Formed in 1994, MMIC is the brain child of Rick Cochran, who wished to bring advanced medical care to underserved areas in the U.S. and around the globe.  

Joplin, Missouri marks MMIC’s second disaster response.  MMIC provided two Mobile Surgery Units and one Mobile Recovery Care Unit deployed at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) following Hurricane Ike in 2009. 

As Vermont’s Small Business Person of the Year, Rick Cochran will be locally honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration on June 16th at a ceremony presented by Vermont Business Magazine in the Shelburne Farms Coach Barn, Shelburne, Vermont.  

St. Johnsbury, VT – June 6, 2011 – Photos courtesy of MMIC. Top, MMIC trailer; middle, damaged St John hospital; bottom, Rick Cochran on-site.                      

Vermont Business Magazine www.vermontbiz.com