A new coaching staff and the new Barry Switzer Complex have been added to the football program, so why not add a new piece of medical equipment?

That's what OU has done, compliments of the Gomer Jones Memorial Endowment and the Norman Regional Hospital Foundation.

A gater was bought to improve the medical equipment at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and other events in the Norman community.

A gater is a utility vehicle that resembles a miniature flat-bedded truck. The hospital modified the vehicle to look like a small ambulance, sirens and all.

Kim Moore, director of emergency services at Norman Regional Hospital, said the hospital is in charge of having medical assistance at the stadium during the home football games. The previous method of transporting the injured athletes was a stretcher and a modified golf cart.

"We had difficulty moving the players off the field," he said. "Now we will be able to move and treat them much easier."

Moore said the new gater will provide a better way for the medics to attend to the injured athletes. The gater is a larger vehicle than the previous one, and will be much more capable of carrying the fully padded, heavy athletes off the field. In case of critical injury the new vehicle will be better equipped to stabilize the injured, avoiding further injury.

Robert Smith, athletic business manager, said the Gomer Jones Memorial Endowment and the Norman Regional Hospital Foundation split the cost of the gater. Both donated $2,500.

The Gomer Jones Memorial Endowment was started to equip and keep the medical facilities at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium state-of-the-art.
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