Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  November 15, 2019

UCLA Health Center receives all-electric mobile medical lab

The University of California Los Angeles Health Center received its first all-electric mobile surgical instrument lab (eMSIL), which will travel between the university’s Ronald Reagan and Santa Monica campuses to collect, clean, repair, disinfect and sterilize surgical suite instruments while emitting zero emissions.

The mobile lab was provided by Winnebago Industries, Inc., a producer of mobile medical vehicles, and is expected to pay for itself within the first year. The university expects to save the Health Center nearly $750,00 a year in comparison to using third-party surgical instrument services. The eMSIL features an all-electric EPIC F-53 33 foot chassis from Motiv Power Systems.

"We applaud UCLA for its innovative application of a mobile medical unit to transform a critical and costly service, normally fixed in a building, into one that can be transported to any location," Ashis Bhattacharya, Winnebago's Vice President of Business Development, Specialty Vehicles, and Advanced Technology, said in a statement. The mobile medical market is a growing industry, with countless applications, from cancer screenings and primary care to opioid treatment and dental services. The variety of services these vehicles can deliver to communities is limited only by the imagination."

According to Winnebago, the mobile lab can hold enough battery charge for eight hours of typical service and has a range of 85 to 125 miles on a full charge. Prior to UCLA receiving the vehicle, it was already equipped with the necessary workbenches, industrial sinks and cleaner stations required for use.

UCLA received funding for the eMSIL from the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project by the California Air Resources Board from cap-and-trade proceeds through California Climate Investments.