MedStar has a massive new piece of equipment for massive emergencies.
It’s an ambulance bus, called an ambus. The hefty piece of equipment is built to hold around 20 patients at once, but if everyone squeezes in, that number hovers closer to 30.
"The Genesis of this came from hurricane deployment," MedStar Emergency Management Administrator Michael Potts said. "And the need to evacuate facilities along the coastal line."
He says it's especially useful in weather emergencies.
"We've used it in a multitude of areas," Potts said. "From winter weather, severe weather, drills, exercises, special events - anything we can do to use it."
MedStar has had an ambus since 2013. They're calling this new model the "Ambus 2.0." Their older bus will be shipped off to the panhandle to help first responders there.
The Department of State Health Services paid more than $900,000 for the new tool, and MedStar agreed to use it in emergencies across Texas.
MedStar officials say there are four other ambuses in the region. The others reside in Frisco, Flower Mound, and Cedar Hill. Only MedStar and Flower Mound have the new version.
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