WHAT WE DO
BLU-MED Response Systems was formed in 2004 as a division of Alaska Structures, Inc.
Having become the shelter of choice for the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) mobile medical system, and the U.S. Army Combat Support Hospital programs, it became apparent that Alaska Structures shelters could also effectively meet emergency medical needs by providing medical shelters and mobile field hospitals in the homeland as well as for humanitarian disaster response worldwide.
Our state-of-the-industry portable fabric shelters and mobile hospitals enable communities and emergency management to rapidly respond to large-scale disasters, providing medical facilities and emergency shelters when and where they are needed. Our mobile hospital solutions ensure a safe, clean environment conducive to advanced-level care in any climate for extended periods of time.
BLU-MED also offers customized packages to outfit the disaster-response medical facility, emergency shelter or emergency response trailer with essential medical equipment and supplies, such as x-ray equipment, ward beds, and intensive care beds, as well as logistics services for arranging shipping and transporting of supplies, equipment, and other goods in response to emergencies and disasters, and technical consulting services regarding the design and implementation of mobile hospital and treatment facilities for use in emergency and disaster response.
Our team represents more than 100 years of collective involvement in developing, organizing, and deploying similar mobile shelter solutions with the U.S. military.
MEMBERS:
OUR DURABLE FABRIC STRUCTURES
Alaska Structures has designed, engineered, tested, produced and certified the world's finest fabric structures since 1975. With several offices around the world, Alaska Structures continues to advance the industry it helped create.
The rugged Alaska environment was pivotal to our success, becoming the testing arena for advanced structures that can tolerate extreme heat and cold, high wind and heavy snow loads. They provide comfort and dependability from the desert heat of the Saudi desert to the ice flows of Mt. McKinley.
Our unique fabric structures are modular by design, to be configurable for your hospital or shelter needs. Our shelters are stronger, safer, more comfortable, easier and more economical to mobilize than any other structure, fabric or conventional. Though portable, they can also be used for permanent facilities. Our designs are easily adaptable to military, commercial, institutional, recreational or general public applications. Alaska Structures sets the standard for mobilizing in remote, rugged locations.
WHERE OUR FABRIC STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN USED
Our structures are used for nearly every building application in every part of the world. That includes UN disaster relief facilities, military facilities, aviation hangars, convention centers, medical complexes, warehouses, mining and manufacturing facilities, film locations, theaters, incarceration complexes, housing, retail outlets, hotels, as well as many other applications large or small, remote or otherwise.
THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
The leadership at BLU-MED Response Systems, a division of Alaska Structures Inc., has over 250 years of combined corporate experience in the fabric shelter and deployable medical facility industries.
DONALD A. DIESEL, PH.D. PRESIDENT
Don Diesel joined the Alaska Structures team in 2004 with the launch of the BLU-MED Response Systems Division to provide deployable medical facility technology to government agencies and civilian organizations worldwide. A retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Don has a doctorate in Physiology from Colorado State University.
During his military career, Dr. Diesel was key in the development and operational implementation of the Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) mobile medical system. Assigned to the Air Expeditionary Forces Battlelab from 1998 to 2000, he was a member of the USAF Team that developed the EMEDS program. In his subsequent position as a squadron commander of aeromedical operations from 2000 to 2002, he was responsible for directing clinical, occupational, public health, and medical readiness activities at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Following the September 11th terrorist attack, he deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar as Medical Group Commander over one of the first operational EMEDS where he directed healthcare services supporting over 1,500 deployed military personnel.
In his current position, Dr. Diesel directs the Division’s sales, production, and customer service of disaster medical facilities and leads development of new systems and capabilities. Since its establishment, his division has provided dozens of mobile medical facilities to government agencies, private industry, and non-government organizations. He directed the sale and delivery of three 200-bed mobile field hospitals through an $18 million dollar contract with the State of California. Dr. Diesel has maintained operational experience in recent years with deployments following disasters in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China, Haiti, Chile, Kenya, and Jordan. During these efforts he has directed the establishment of a variety of BLU-MED deployable medical facilities.
EDDIE CASSO LOPEZ, SYSTEMS PRODUCTION SPECIALIST
Eddie Casso Lopez joined Alaska Structures when the BLU-MED Response Systems Division was launched in July 2004. Mr. Casso Lopez has over 20 years of military medical experience, including intensive care, emergency medicine, ambulance services, and staff development. His medical field experience spans 14 medical deployments to foreign countries -- totaling over 48 months as an Independent Duty Medical Technician. He deployed following the September 11th terrorist attack as Superintendent of one of the first operational EMEDS and established bare base medical operations at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, supporting more than 1,500 deployed military personnel.
Mr. Casso Lopez's management experience includes duties as a Medical Squadron Superintendent, managing a squadron budget and 70 personnel over a three-year period. He has extensive experience with the development and execution of numerous military medical deployable platforms. He was a member of the U.S. Air Force Tiger Team responsible for the development and validation of the EMEDS system. Following retirement, from the military, Mr. Casso Lopez worked for three years with the Air Force Medical Evaluation Support Activity where he investigated new medical technologies. During this period, he participated in numerous projects, including modernization of the Air Force’s medical decontamination system and the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility equipment package.
In his current position, Mr. Casso Lopez is an integral member of the team responsible for system development, production and delivery of all BLU-MED disaster-response medical facilities. Mr. Casso Lopez regularly deploys to support customers in the establishment of medical facilities in the wake of disasters worldwide.
HOMERO ELIZONDO, TRAINING AND SERVICE SPECIALIST
Homero Elizondo joined the BLU-MED Response Systems’ team in September of 2008. Mr. Elizondo retired from the Air Force in 2007 with more than 23 years of active duty service as a medical technician. During his years of military service, he developed a diverse medical background, including aviation medicine, ambulance services, field medicine, and field sanitation. Mr. Elizondo participated in four major military deployments to three countries totaling over eighteen months in austere field conditions. To broaden his knowledge, Mr. Elizondo received a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health from Trident at American InterContinental University (AIU). His expert knowledge in field medicine and public health is vital to the BLU-MED team.
In addition, Mr. Elizondo served four years at the Air Force Research Laboratory, where he participated in the testing and evaluation of aircrew life-support equipment, collecting and analyzing data from altitude, acceleration, and thermal research studies. As a squadron superintendent, he led a team of 75 medical personnel. He also served as the superintendent of the Air Force Medical Evaluation Support Activity (AFMESA), where he supervised all support and logistics efforts during the testing and evaluation of new medical technologies.
With BLU-MED, Mr. Elizondo provides initial and recurrent training and service support to our customers to establish disaster-response medical systems. He plays an integral role in system development of BLU-MED facilities, and regularly directs the rapid deployment of mobile medical facilities in remote regions throughout the world.