Asterisk Mobile Medical Center provides on-site help

Jun. 20 – Professional AMA motocross and Supercross racers are a few steps closer to medical attention these days thanks to the new Asterisk Mobile Medical Center just put into use this year. The custom-made mobile center houses a variety of medical and treatment equipment, including a state-of-the-art mobile x-ray machine, and will be trackside at AMA Chevy Trucks U. S. Motocross Nationals and AMA U. S. Supercross Championship races.

"This is a big advance in providing the best possible care for the athletes," said Dr. John Bodnar, Medical Director for the center, and one of the two physicians who staff the center during races. "We will be able to evaluate a much broader spectrum of injuries with the facilities now available to us and provide faster and more efficient treatment for those injuries."

When Dr. Bodnar is not at trackside, he works at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in San Diego as Assistant Medical Director for the emergency room, and he is an avid off-road motorcyclist.

The other physician, Dr. Steve Augustine, is an assistant professor of orthopedics at the University of Florida's Jacksonville campus, and is also a motorcyclist.

The clinic is a result of AMA Pro Racing's recently formed Medical Advisory Board, which consists of several members of the medical community, including Dr. Bodnar and Dr. Augustine. And it was made possible in part by the financial support of Asterisk, a Knee Brace Company, as well as other companies in the motorcycle industry, including the major manufacturers and their riders.

But it was Dr. Bodnar's guidance in the project, including helping to design the one-of-a-kind tractor trailer rig, which really made it happen.

"Dr. Bodnar has been working motocross and Supercross events for quite a few years now," said Hugh Fleming, AMA Pro Racing's director of safety and logistics. "It was really his vision to develop the mobile medical unit and take it to our events. He took the initiative to contact Asterisk and pull it all together."

Asterisk had been part of the Supercross/motocross safety scene prior to the development of the center. The company essentially covered Dr. Bodnar's expenses so he could be trackside at the races over the last several years.

Staffing of the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center during any given race will vary, but Fleming said it'll usually consist of the two doctors, a volunteer nurse and a trainer.

Fleming also said that the center is open to more than just the racers. "If you're a crew member, or a family member of a racer, or really anybody who has access to the paddock area," he said, "they are really adamant about it being accessible to the folks who work in this sport."

When the center is at trackside, this entire bunk slides out giving medical personnel more room to work.

"Bringing together all the elements to make the Mobile Medical Center possible has been an outstanding collaborative effort," said Scott Hollingsworth, AMA Pro Racing CEO. "A special thanks goes to Dr. Bodnar and Tom Carson for completing much of the groundwork, and to Asterisk for purchasing the mobile medical center."

"Tom Carson (from Asterisk) worked with me in the facility's design and is responsible for the unit and its operation," said Dr. Bodnar. "Without him, we would never have gotten off the ground."

"Safety is at the forefront of what we are trying to accomplish at AMA Pro Racing," said Hollingsworth. "Our Medical Advisory Board has done an outstanding job of bringing the concept of the mobile clinic to fruition in such a short period of time."

Similar plans are being considered by the AMA Pro Racing Medical Advisory Board for the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championships and the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships.