Custom Medical Solutions for the Harshest Environments
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Tulsa, OK | June 9, 2023 | How Doing The Right Thing Saved A Man's Life
It was the middle of a hot summer, and Chinook Medical Gear received a call from a nurse practitioner who had used Chinook’s products in the past. This woman held back tears as she explained her dire situation and her desperate need for our medical supplies.
Her uncle, who was diagnosed with colon cancer and lived in a third world country, was about to go through emergency surgery to remove the cancerous part of his colon. The hospital conditions were primitive, and maintaining a sterile environment for surgery was unlikely. The risk of infection after surgery was very high under the conditions.
After speaking with the surgeons, they agreed that some of our custom medical supplies and modules would greatly help his chances of survival. The order needed to overnight ship over 1,200 miles, where the woman had arranged it to be flown directly into the country and hand-delivered to those performing the surgery.
While this is certainly not the ordinary situation, Chinook held to its core values of “doing the right thing” and “focusing on our customers and their needs.”
Our team kicked it into gear. We took the order, fulfilled it immediately, and one of our directors saw to it personally that it was overnight shipped to where it needed to go.
The woman cried as she received it the next day, knowing it could make the life-altering difference in her uncle’s surgery. Upon receiving the supplies, the surgeons performed the procedure. After hours and hours in surgery, it was complete. They had been able to completely remove the cancerous portion of the man’s colon. After some time recovering, there was no infection. The surgery was a success.
About a month later, the woman reached back out to Chinook. She struggled to put her gratitude to words as she said, “I knew Chinook was high quality, but I didn’t know how caring they would be. It is because of their urgency that my uncle survived his surgery. Thank you, Chinook.”
We at Chinook Medical Gear are thankful for what we get to do, knowing that what we choose to do truly has the ability to save lives around the world.
Durango, CO | May 6, 2021 | Durango Herald - Chinook Medical Gear to give away 20 medical kits to law enforcement officers
In honor of National Police Week, May 9 to 15, Chinook Medical Gear will give away 20 Officer Medical Kits to law enforcement officers.
Community members are invited to nominate someone who has gone above and beyond in their line of duty at www.chinookmed.com/npw. Include the nominee’s contact information along with a brief paragraph explaining why they should be selected. Nominations are due May 16. Winners will be announced May 17.
Durango, CO | May 4, 2021 | Durango Herald - Chinook Medical Gear supports mental wellness and suicide prevention for first responders
Chinook Medical Gear sponsors locally-based Guardian Initiatives, a nonprofit that exists to improve and increase mental wellness support for first responders throughout the Four Corners.
Durango, CO | April 30, 2021 | Chinook Medical Gear is Giving 20 Medical Kits to Law Enforcement Officers
In honor of National Police Week (May 9-15), Chinook Medical Gear is giving away 20 free Officer Medical Kits to law enforcement officers.
If you know someone who has gone above and beyond in their line of duty, please nominate them at https://www.chinookmed.com/npw. Be sure to include their contact information along with a brief paragraph explaining why they should be selected. Nominations are due by May 16. The winners will be announced on May 17.
Durango, CO | April 28, 2021 | Chinook Medical Gear Supports Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention for First Responders
Chinook Medical Gear is proud to sponsor locally-based Guardian Initiatives, a nonprofit that exists to improve and increase mental wellness support for first responders throughout the Four Corners.
In December of 2022, a Guardian Initiatives team of four will participate in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge — a self-supported, 3000-mile rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean. As a sponsor, Chinook Medical Gear will work closely with the racers to develop a medical kit that will include everything they will need for their 30-45 days at sea.
December 22, 2020 | Tribal Business News: Chinook Medical Gear Grows Under Native Ownership
Native ownership has unlocked a sea of potential new business opportunities for Chinook Medical Gear, a maker of custom medical kits intended for use in harsh environments.
Long-time employee Ben Crowder (Osage Nation) partnered with two other employees to buy the company from founder Carl Darnell in 2015, with Crowder taking over majority ownership shortly thereafter.
Durango, CO | December, 2020 | Chinook Medical Gear Honored for Contributing to Durango’s Economic Diversity
Chinook Medical Gear is honored to be a winner of the 2020 Governor’s Minority Business Award. Each year, Colorado’s Minority Business Office honors for-profit businesses who have contributed to the economic diversity and success of minority communities in Colorado.
The award recognizes businesses across four categories and in four regions of the State. Recipients must be at least 51% owned by minorities, women, veterans, LGBTQ or disabled individuals. They must be a Colorado-based business in good standing with the Secretary of State and have a history of generating revenue for at least twelve months.
Read Full Press Release Here
Colorado Oedit - Read About the Winners Here
Read Durango Herald Announcements Here
Durango, CO | March 9, 2020 | 1st Southwest Community Fund - Entrepreneur Spotlight: Chinook Medical Gear, Ben Crowder - “Custom medical solutions for the harshest environments”
Unlike many of our entrepreneurs who identify a problem and find the path of entrepreneurship as a tool to address it, Chinook Medical Gear is a wonderful example of how entrepreneurship can find you. Ben Crowder, owner of Chinook Medical Gear discovered this path when he began his journey as Chinook’s sales rep, and many years later now finds himself the owner and CEO. Chinook Medical Gear is a certified Veteran Owned and Native American 8(a) Owned Small Business that“exists to deliver custom medical solutions for pre-hospital care, enabling medical providers to save lives and aid the injured.”From Chinook’s early days of focusing on wilderness medicine, to their focus today on combat medicine, they have developed a specialized line of products in medical trauma supplies primarily for military and law enforcement.
Durango, CO | February, 2019 | Chinook Medical Gear Is Now A 8(a) Certified Business
Altitude Technologies, Inc. dba Chinook Medical Gear, Inc. announces that the federal Small Business Administration has certified Chinook Medical Gear as an 8(a) Small Business, effective immediately. Chinook is already recognized as a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), and as being Native American-owned.
The 8(a) designation provides an important opportunity to federal government procurement Program Managers and Contracting Officers whose departments or agencies have committed to purchasing 23% of their procurement spend from small businesses, including 5% from 8(a) small businesses. In addition, government entities purchasing from qualified 8(a) small businesses are able to sole-source purchases of up to $7 million without having to obtain multiple bids.
Durango, CO | February 12th, 2019 | Chinook Medical Gear, Inc. Announces New Advisory Board Member
Chinook Medical Gear announced today that Stephen Wolfe, D.O. has joined their Board of Advisors. Dr. Wolfe is an Emergency Medicine physician with a career spanning multiple disciplines, from Navy Seal and Air Force Pararescueman, to medical researcher and now EMS Director at a Level II Trauma Center, in addition to being a Law Enforcement SWAT Medical Director.
Dr. Wolfe is a 2015 graduate of Midwestern-AZCOM in Glendale, Arizona. He had substantial EMS and military experience prior to medical school, serving as an Air Force Pararescueman (PJ) with the Alaska Air National Guard for 11 years. In this role, he maintained parachute, dive, flight crew, and EMT-Paramedic certifications to conduct pre-hospital field medical care. He performed multiple combat search and rescue missions during deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait.
