Cisco
Deutsche Bahn’s DB Medibus Solution Mobilises Healthcare in Times of Crisis with Cisco
This article first appeared in the Bus-News Magazine Issue 2 2023.
By Felix Thielmann, Senior Programme Manager – Business Development (DB Regio AG) at Deutsche Bahn AG
Over the past decade in Germany, we saw young people moving from rural areas to cities, leaving elderly residents stuck in increasingly empty small towns without health resources. But the pandemic brought about another shift: the growth of remote work and city housing costs has led to a revived interest in moving out to the countryside. Still, there’s a huge lack of infrastructure.
Since Deutsche Bahn is in the business of connecting people, it made sense for us to step in. Deutsche Bahn is the second-largest transport-related company, and the largest rail infrastructure owner in Europe with more than 330,000 employees around the world. Our role of connecting people meant we were one of the first to notice the extent of the demographic problem.
We figured we could accommodate aged homeowners and young families alike with a doctor’s office on wheels
The Impact of the DB Medibus
We created the DB Medibus, and launched the project with Charité, a Berlin Hospital that used the mobile clinic to provide vaccinations and treat refugees in facilities throughout the city. We enhanced the clinic by partnering with Cisco to implement the IT foundations and Webex collaboration devices needed to provide translations via teleconferencing. Finally, refugees could talk with a doctor in their native language.
We continued the project by providing recommended immunisations to school children throughout Germany. The German Ministry of Health even launched a major vaccination campaign using one of our DB Medibuses. Cisco’s partnership was incredibly vital during this stage because of the need for a constant, reliable internet connection through rural areas.
