Summit County Donates Retired Mobile Hospital Trailer to Ohio Emergency Dispatchers

Summit County has given a piece of retired medical equipment a new mission. County officials announced the donation of a 28 foot trailer, inflatable tent and cots to the Chagrin Valley Dispatch Center on Wednesday. The equipment will support Ohio TERT, the Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce, during future operations. From Mobile Hospital to Mobile Shelter The trailer previously served as a mobile hospital unit. Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro said the transfer lets the equipment continue serving a public safety role, even as its original purpose has ended. Officials said the trailer and shelter equipment can now support emergency deployments, extended incidents, training exercises and other operational needs across the region. Dispatchers from the Summit Emergency Communications Center regularly deploy with Ohio TERT. The team assists emergency communications centers and communities during critical incidents, and county officials said this donation strengthens that existing regional partnership. Medical Supplies Redistributed Across the Region Before the trailer changed hands, Summit County set aside health care related items no longer needed for the new purpose. Those supplies went to several organizations working in community and emergency health care. OPEN-M received a share of the equipment to support its on site clinic. Additional items went to Medwish Cleveland, the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office and Bomb Squad, the South Summit Rescue Team and the Columbiana County Community Emergency Response Team. Shapiro said the donation allows equipment originally purchased for emergency medical response to keep serving an important public safety purpose. She added that it will support the work of Ohio TERT and the dispatchers who deploy with the team, while the medical supplies will directly benefit patients served by OPEN-M’s clinic and other community organizations throughout the region.