‘Hospital on wheels’ to start serving rural veterans

Fully mobile hospital units on wheels will soon start rolling into the nation’s rural and remote communities to make health care more accessible for sick, injured and older veterans who struggle to access the critical services they need close to home.

Called GOHOSPITAL, the vans come equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, as well as technology linking clinicians inside the vehicles with doctors who can read test results and evaluate patients, according to AutoMediX, a Virginia-based private company that developed the technology.

A mobile GOHOSPITAL designed to bring hospital-grade care to remote communities and even to the sites of natural disasters will be introduced at the 20th annual IDGA Veterans Healthcare Summit, which is scheduled this week at National Harbor, in Maryland, just south of Washington, D.C.

The yearly conference brings together leaders from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Defense Health Agency, military medicine, and private health companies to discuss the delivery of medical care for veterans.

A BD Alaris PCU with a BD Alaris infusion pump module. The device is an IV infusion pump, used to administer IV fluids, antibiotics, medications, pain medications and other precisely controlled intravenous therapies. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

Top: A network switch and communications rack, providing onboard networking, EMR connectivity, imaging transfer, telemedicine and internet communications. Bottom: An American BioTech Supply Medical Refrigerator, a laboratory-grade refrigeratorused for medications, vaccines, reagents, laboratory specimens, and diagnostic cartridges. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

At left is a Beckman Coulter Microfuge 16 centrifuge. The device spins blood or other biological samples at high speed to separate plasma, serum or cellular components. At right is a Boekel Scientific Tube Rocker, which gently rocks blood tubes or other specimens to keep them mixed during processing or incubation. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

A Truvian Beta 36, left, is a point-of-care blood analyzer. It performs rapid blood chemistry and hematology testing from a small blood sample. It is designed specifically for decentralized or mobile healthcare settings. At right is an emergency eyewash station, handwashing sink, soap and paper towel dispensers. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

Several GOHOSPITAL vehicles are expected to be deployed in late 2026 and in January 2027, AutoMediX said. The company did not disclose further details about the rollout.

Whether a GOHOSPITAL van travels to a veterans post or parks in a patient’s driveway, its technology will bring specialized diagnostic tools and services that currently are unavailable outside of bricks-and-mortar medical facilities, according to AutoMediX.

James L. McCormick II, a retired Army captain who lives in rural West Virginia, said he would welcome a shorter commute time from his hometown to access the high level of care he receives at a VA hospital.

“My nearest VA medical center is 1 hour and 45 minutes away on a perfect day, but usually it’s a two-hour drive one way [contributing to] a 6.5 to seven-hour day for an appointment with labs,” said McCormick, the executive director for government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America.

“Anything that brings reliable and functional assistance to our veterans in rural America should be something everyone can support,” McCormick said.

GOHOSPITAL is an arm of Planned Systems International, which describes itself as an enterprise IT solutions and management consulting firm that serves the VA and the military.

The mobile hospital-style units are part of a larger initiative funded and advanced by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, a four-year-old agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on improving health care access and solutions.

The goal is to “deliver real-world breakthroughs in years instead of decades,” according to ARPA-H.

A patient’s vital signs are checked in a GOHOSPITAL van, which comes equipped with hospital-level diagnostic tools and treatment for rural patients, including veterans who may live hours from a facility that provides the medical services they need. (AutoMediX)

Other ARPA-H projects include funding novel medical approaches to repair damaged brain tissue and restore function for veterans with traumatic brain injuries, and investigating ibogaine, a psychoactive plant compound, as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses in veterans.

GOHOSPITAL — described as a mobile care delivery platform — is designed as an integrated system and not simply a vehicle with medical equipment. It is capable of supporting a range of services in rural and underserved settings, AutoMediX said.

The “hospital on wheels” will carry advanced diagnostic and treatment tools, such as mini-CT scanners, ultrasound equipment and chemotherapy infusion capabilities, enabling patients to avoid long-distance travel.

Some of the vans will have the medical tools necessary to respond to big disasters and others may be equipped to function in active combat zones, according to AutoMediX.

Rural medical offices that plan to use GOHOSPITAL vehicles include Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah, which will deploy a van equipped as a hospital-level cancer care unit.

GOHOSPITAL will begin rolling into remote and rural Utah communities in December, according to developers.

Theresa Werner, a medical oncologist and deputy director at Huntsman Cancer Institute, said that the van will provide infusion services, injections and exams for rural patients who often must drive hours for their life-saving care.

“Anything that brings reliable and functional assistance to our veterans in rural America should be something everyone can support,” said James L. McCormick II, a retired Army captain who lives in West Virginia and is executive director for government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America. McCormick is shown in June 2004 at the 518th Combat Gun Truck Company TOC (tactical operations center) in southern Iraq. (James L. McCormick II)

James McCormick Sr., a two-time Vietnam combat infantry soldier wounded twice in Vietnam, delayed seeing a doctor and getting a critical medical diagnosis because of the long commute to a VA hospital from his West Virginia home, according to his son, James L. McCormick II, a retired Army captain. (James L. McCormick II)

McCormick recalled his father’s own experience as a Vietnam veteran who did not live within an easy drive to a VA medical facility.

“My father, James McCormick Sr., a two-time Vietnam combat infantry soldier who was wounded twice in Vietnam, did not go to the VA much due to the driving distance and his work schedule,” McCormick said.

At age 52, his father finally sought care from the VA hospital in Huntington, W.Va., in February 2000, after experiencing persistent health problems that did not subside.

“He was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and passed away on Sept. 2, 2000,” McCormick said.

“My feelings on health care are deep and personal. If it’s community care, a van that hits the rural areas or a joint VA and local hospital collaboration, we better figure it out,” McCormick said. “Many great veterans are passing away from issues that could be addressed with [better] access to basic and advanced health care services.”