Introduction: The RESOURCES FOR OPTIMAL CARE OF THE INJURED PATIENT 2006 by the Committee on Trauma states that, "Trauma centers have a special obligation to participate in disaster preparation and management." As defined, mass casualty incidents overwhelm the local medical resources.

Methods: The concept and design of a fully functional, rapidly deployable emergency hospital was developed with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security.

Results: This video illustrates the entire infrastructure of this portable hospital which was deployed to the state of Mississippi immediately following hurricane Katrina. A year later the MED-1 was deployed to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana to support the expected medical surge for the still partially incapacitated local healthcare system.

Conclusion: The MED-1 is a prototype disaster response healthcare facility that can be rapidly deployed by land or air to location or vicinity of a mass casualty incident.