Accessing healthcare is harder if you live in a rural area, far away from a doctor’s surgery or medical centre. One solution is for the consulting room to come to you.
Vanna Vans who have built their reputation with four-season camper vans have designed a mobile consulting room in which health professionals can carry out routine examinations, administer vaccines, and provide scheduled medical visits right to the patients doorstep – in any weather.
Their research into mobile healthcare vehicles highlighted a number of ways to improve the experience for the healthcare user and practitioner alike: Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinters are used as the platform vehicle because of their proven reliability whilst being manageable, easy to drive and easy to park. The Mobile Medical Units can be used all year round – Vanna Vans are located in West Fargo, North Dakota, US., where the temperatures can plummet to -40F/C – so they get an annual reminder about working in extremes of temperature. A Gree EcoCool 15k BTU 120v A/C unit which incorporates a heat pump to keep the van warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
The selection of upholstery and construction material has been made to provide a professional, hygienic yet welcoming environment within the mobile clinic. There’s a chairlift for people with limited mobility, a desk, examination couch, and a power supply for a range of medical electronics – to be specified by the client – but which typically include Cool Cube Medical Coolers; and a Synexis Dry Hydrogen air filtration system.
Medical records can be consulted and amended on location via the Ultimate Road Warrior VR2 LTE Wifi system which can pair with Starlink and has a VPN network option to be sure that all medical files are protected by encryption.
There’s been a 40% increase in the availability of mobile medical care facilities in the US over the last five years and the passing of the MOBILE Healthcare Act in March 2023 provides access to federal grants which should enable the roll-out of mobile facilities at even greater scale in future.
In the pursuit of maximum reliability the mobile off-grid power system has been built using Victron Energy components, and specified to ensure all-day power for lights, AC and heater, basic medical equipment, and the wheelchair lift, whilst clinics requiring larger power systems can elect to have a power system to match their needs.
“It’s important to us that the clinics are able to customise their Mobile Medical Unit to suit their needs and budget.” says Vanna Co-Founder Jason Gilbraith.
A typical Mobile Medical Unit includes a:
● MultiPlus Inverter/Charger 3000W 120V. These powerful true sine wave inverter/chargers are able to run even the most sensitive medical equipment.
● An MPPT SmartSolar Charge Controller (150/35) will harvest maximum power from the solar panels for battery storage
● The Cerbo GX is a communication centre which harmonises the systems’ power demand and storage; it also provides systems status data to users via a touch screen GX Touch 50. The Cerbo GX will also make system data and programming available online to installation engineers via the free to use remote management platform VRM. Remote engineering provides medical staff with instant access to electronics expertise in the event of a problem.
● A Digital Multi Control 200/200A GX provides easy input-current setting which is so useful when connecting to a variety of AC power infrastructures at different locations along the route.
● Smart Battery Protect 65A – protects the batteries from being accidentally depleted by high-consumption non-essential loads.
● 2 x Lithionics Boss302 12V battery)
● 3 x 100 Watt Zamp Solar Panels
● American Power Systems 255A second alternator controlled by a Wakespeed WS500 Regulator – fully compatibility to Victron infrastructure.
“We use Victron because we consider it to be the best in the industry in terms of reliability, durability, and quality,” says Ben Gleason, Co-Founder at Vanna Vans. “Vanna provides warranty and technical support to our customers, and we expect the power systems we install to perform at a high level for many, many years to come.”
For a growing business like Vanna, Victron’s Remote Management Portal (VRM) is invaluable. “Having VRM means that if one of our mobile medical vans is up in Alaska eight years from now and is having trouble with the power system, they can just call us,” says Jason. “We’ll hop on their WiFi hotspot, access their system remotely from our computer, diagnose the issue, and resolve it, usually the same day. This is a game-changer for our clients because you don’t have to travel to us or plan ahead to bring it to us. VRM makes anything related to service and technical support a hundred times easier for the owner of the vehicle – and for us as a business.”
Charging on the go…
With solar panels installed on the roof and a secondary alternator installed under the hood a large lithium battery bank can be recharged using solar energy or alternator power — or both when travelling between appointments. Noisy generators will not need to run in quiet neighbourhoods.
Aaron Hanson of Intelligent Controls – who are Vanna’s Victron distributor – says: “Making the transition from building recreational custom vans to manufacturing fleets of professional, commercial-grade vehicles is not easy. Vanna has developed the technical expertise of their team, strengthened their manufacturing capabilities, and earned the support of partners who can really believe in them. It’s exciting to watch Vanna take their business to a whole new level.”
Looking ahead
“There’s a huge and growing need for quality, accessible healthcare in rural America, and we’re excited about the potential for these vans to be deployed where they’re needed most.” says Ben; “We really wanted the interior of these vans to feel like a modern, dignified doctor’s office; a place that’s warm and inviting – somewhere you’d be happy to enter and want to return for your next visit. I believe we’ve achieved that.”
Let’s take a look at the build process:
