How Mercy Virtual Saved $7,500 in Inventory With Temporary Cold Storage
When Mercy Virtual needed to shut down a walk-in freezer for repair and full defrost, the operations team had an immediate problem: how to keep frozen product safe while supporting a facility that operates 24/7. Instead of risking spoilage, delaying maintenance, or piecing together a temporary solution, the team rented emergency cold storage from SNS Rentals and kept operations moving.
Located in Chesterfield, Missouri, Mercy Virtual supports telehealth and remote care operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s like a hospital without beds, staffed by clinicians and support teams who help extend care beyond traditional hospital walls across multiple states.
Inside that always-on environment, the Mercy Virtual operations team is responsible for keeping food service running for staff working around the clock. The facility includes a cafeteria, conference center, and micromart, so when their walk-in freezer had to be shut down, the challenge was more than an inconvenience. It was an immediate operational problem with thousands of dollars in inventory at risk and no backup freezer space on site.
Finding a Mobile Freezer Trailer Rental in St. Louis
The team first explored other options. They asked their food distributors about borrowing freezer trucks and considering ice-based storage used for events. Those options either were not available during the summer or did not offer the capacity and practicality the team needed for a week-long commercial use case.
A quick online search for mobile cold storage led Mercy Virtual to SNS Rentals. The concept stood out right away: a local business offering a mobile refrigeration unit that could flex to freezer temperatures and serve as temporary freezer storage during the shutdown.
How SNS Rentals Coordinated Temporary Cold Storage Delivery
Mercy Virtual needed more than equipment. They needed a vendor who understood timing, communication, delivery logistics, and the realities of operating inside a healthcare-related environment.
From the start, Kyle from SNS Rentals helped coordinate the rental around the facility’s maintenance schedule and delivery constraints. He reviewed the location, mapped out the drop-off plan, understood the billing process, and worked around the building’s limitations, including the fact that remote temperature monitoring through facility Wi‑Fi would not be possible because of security restrictions.
The turnaround from booking to delivery was only a couple of weeks. Kyle delivered the trailer early on a Monday, around 5 a.m., so it could begin cooling before the operations team loaded product. Once the unit was ready, the team had the temporary freezer capacity it needed without disrupting day-to-day operations.
“Kyle was incredible from the get-go. He understood what we were going through, coordinated everything around our schedule, and when we had a late-night question, he was immediately ready to help. You could tell he genuinely cared about making sure we were taken care of.”
-Liz Paul, Manager of Nutrition Services for Mercy Virtual
How Temporary Cold Storage Protected $7,500 in Inventory During The Walk-In Freezer Repair
The mobile cold storage trailer performed exactly as Mercy Virtual needed it to. It safely stored an estimated $7,500 worth of frozen product, including higher-value proteins and food used to support leadership and facility operations. Instead of risking spoilage, asking employees to take product home, or delaying necessary preventive maintenance, the team had a secure temporary freezer solution until the walk-in freezer was back online.
By using temporary freezer storage, Mercy Virtual completed its planned walk-in freezer repair, protected approximately $7,500 in inventory, and maintained food service continuity for its 24/7 facility.
“The unit itself was immaculate, you could have eaten off the floor. It looked brand new. And Kyle made sure everything was perfect. We would rent from SNS again, a hundred times over.”
-Liz Paul, Manager of Nutrition Services for Mercy Virtual