What’s Seacross Ventures all about?
Seacross Ventures is a biomedical research and development company that is primarily dedicated to advancing healthcare delivery in remote and austere environments. One way it does this is by manufacturing and providing the Seacross Medical bag, an organizational bag for your first aid supplies, bandages and dressing materials, medications, instruments, and other supplies. Seacross Ventures is dedicated to improving healthcare and assisting physicians. It is exploring other concepts and tools to advance healthcare in remote and austere environments as well.
The company has its roots in a liberal arts environment, one of general knowledge and critical thinking, sprinkled with a touch of fine arts to make things even more interesting. This Texas-based company has a website that not only focuses on its products as they become available but also serves as a portal for a blog that explores the varied interests of its founder, with posts ranging from the basic sciences of physics, biochemistry, physiology, and anatomy to marine pharmacognosy and medical botany, to occupational medicine, austere medicine, undersea and hyperbaric medicine, wound care, and internal medicine. You may also find blogs on sailing, traveling, photography, painting, and literature.
Seacross Ventures is a fitting name for a company dedicated to discovery and making things useful. From the austere environments of the seas, both above and below, with destinations traveled and new things discovered, we cross into interesting realms. The Seacross Medical bag is a starting point for organizing the tools needed for remote practice and travel—a place for your first-aid kit with added supplies of bandages, medications, and instruments. It’s considered a starting point for the professional with the knowledge and desire to build their own kit or multiple kits. A hybrid of a tool roll and a messenger bag, the Seacross Medical bag is a great organizational aid with endless customization, limited only by your own imagination.
As used in other occupations and industries, the simple tool roll is a time-proven design preferred by many for their organizational needs. For physicians, it will serve as the “other black bag”, perfect for any stage of their practice and career. It will be useful to medical students just starting to accumulate medical instruments and supplies, to active physicians already in their practice, and to retired physicians organizing their equipment and supplies acquired over the years. It may also benefit other healthcare providers, such as certified nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or even ship captains, by organizing equipment and supplies obtained through their supply companies and/or medical directors.
Lessons learned during the significant time I practiced in rural, remote, and austere locations, from house calls to clinic and hospital practice, helped with the development of the Seacross Medical Organizational bag. Participating in numerous mass-casualty drills in various hospitals reinforced the need for better organization. An improved organizational means was needed on multiple fronts. I wanted a professional-looking bag that could be carried on rounds, on house calls, hung up in my office, carried on board a boat, or in a car. I wanted something easy to carry in a soft-shell container and waterproof, but not in a hard-shelled box. I did not want a backpack or some military-looking bag crammed full of unnecessary contents. I wanted something that looked good and served a purpose well.
Many vessels, such as maritime vessels and aircraft, are space-limited, and the Seacross Medical bag can fit easily in irregular storage spaces. This will also apply to those on their travels or expeditions, such as wilderness seekers, campers, voyagers, or travelers. It will also be useful in occupations where individuals are located long distances from healthcare facilities, such as ranchers, park rangers, and offshore workers. In conflict zones, the utility of a well-equipped IFAK (individual first-aid kit) could determine the difference between life and death.
The Seacross Medical bag fits equally well in the busy emergency room or medical clinic and can function as a go bag or ditch bag when needed. The medical bag fits well on the equipment or supply wall, as frequently seen in hospital emergency rooms. It can also serve as an organizational component for mass casualty drill planning and events. A set of different colored bags, such as red, yellow, green, blue, black, or grey, as used at color-coded stations, would be of interest to hospital administrators and organizers. Although the Seacross Medical bag can be used in many locations and for both on-site and off-premises disasters, it ultimately depends on how it is personally organized and equipped.
The patented design of the Seacross Medical Organizer bag features a shoulder strap, a handle, two D-rings, and two grommets. This allows the bag to be carried by hand, shouldered like a messenger bag, and/or hung on a pegboard wall. Stow it in a closet, in a car or truck, or on board a boat. If building a kit to meet the ANSI/ISEA standards, just mount it in a waterproof box. I prefer to keep mine in a roll-up waterproof bag.
One can easily roll it open onto a table, floor, deck, or ground, providing improved visualization and eliminating the often jammed-packed, unorganized packs frequently seen and used in the field. It is handsomely made in the USA. Another thing that separates the Seacross Medical bag from the rest of the pack is its use of durable, waterproof fabric, waterproof zippers, and clear vinyl windows in each of the four smaller component bags. Inside the smaller bags, one will find all the seams reinforced with a binder. Each smaller bag is detachable from the roll and features a detachable hook-and-loop identification patch. Each roll also features two custom-made hook-and-loop patches that identify the kit. These identifying patches always face forward when the roll is open or closed. Hook-and-loop material (think Velcro) is used to secure the bags and other features to the wrap. Behind the smaller bags is an area that supports a malleable, soft fabric or material. Examples might include a cloth sheet, blanket, red plastic bags, body bags, splinting material, or a soft fabric stretcher, depending on how one equips it and the intended purpose. Tourniquet holders are available for rapid deployment and are easily within reach. A pocket is incorporated into the design for further storage.
As preferences vary widely among professionals like us, building out the kit is left to its owner. Other blogs on this site outline the process of how I decide what should go into a kit.
It is my sincere hope that the “Seacross Medical” bag will serve each of my colleagues, fellow healthcare providers, adventurers, voyagers, and hard workers equally well.
Evert Randall Bentley, D.O., M.S., FACOI
Owner and CEO
Seacross Ventures
