Lansing, Mich. (WLNS) — Lake Superior State University (LSSU) Nursing department has collaborated with the Superior Simulation Center, War Memorial Hospital and the United States Army Corps of Engineers-Detroit (USACE) to create Acute Container Care Pods. 

These units can be deployed to areas needing additional ICU beds for any emergency including the current COVID-19 pandemic.

A small group of Registered Nurses residing in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan, two of whom are members of the Lake Superior State University Nursing Faculty team (Jaimee Gerrie, RN and Carrie Perez, RN), were called upon by the USACE to provide consultation for the design of prototype mobile ICU PODS and nursing stations.

After the trial, these mobile PODs will be shipped and can be utilized by hospitals throughout the United States for those in need of additional ICU hospital beds with ventilator support needs. If the trial is successful there is potential for the retrofit of more to serve many others in need. 

In designing the care pods, the first step was to mark up the layout of the needs within the pod, including: electrical outlets, data outlets, lighting, wash stations, etc.

Configuring a care pod required a practical approach to ensure health care workers would have the ability to provide superior care to their patients. 

In an additional effort, LSSU Nursing Faculty team member (Joy Felix, MSN, RN) also provided USACE consultation in the Detroit area. 

LSSU Nursing faculty along with the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a simulation on April 21 using the recently created Acute Care Pods (mobile ICUs) that were designed through this collaboration.

The simulation provided critical insight on how the pods would function in a real life situation and the unpredictable Michigan weather provided wind and snow to add an extra element to the test.

“Watching the simulation occur and the collaboration between LSSU faculty and the Army Corps of Engineers was an incredible experience. You could see the care and passion that each individual put into ensuring that the real life test accounted for multiple scenarios that could occur,” said Sharmay Wood, Interim Director of Marketing and Communications.