HDSCS made a rapid and comprehensive response following the Richter 4.7 earthquake that shook southern California on Sunday evening, May 17, 2009. HDSCS members were checking in on our primary repeater before the chandeliers stopped swinging. Assistant Coordinator Tom Gaccione WB2LRH established a net and assigned members to check on the status of our supported hospitals. Highest priority was given to trauma centers, large multi-building facilities, and those closest to the epicenter in the Lennox area. (The two closest Orange County hospitals were 18 miles away.) Within 20 minutes, all of these facilities were determined to be functional with no communications problems. Net members then went on to check status of the remainder of our supported hospitals. It was less than 55 minutes after the earthquake when the functional status of every facility had been determined. We then provided a report of our findings to the Medical Disaster Management Coordinator of Orange County's Emergency Medical Services Agency.
Emergency Activation #109: Shortly before 6 PM on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, HDSCS coordinators received a page from St. Jude Hospital, advising a "Code Triage" situation. HDSCS Coordinator April Moell WA6OPS called the hospital's House Supervisor and was advised of a hazardous materials incident, with the possibility of 10 to 12 incoming patients. At that point, the House Supervisor's telephone failed and attempts to call back to the hospital gave "all circuits busy" indications. April immediately sent Assistant Coordinator Paul Broden K6MHD to the hospital to provide communications backup. He arrived in 16 minutes and met with Tim Beringer KI6RVT, the hospitals Safety Officer. Hospital staff members were deploying a decontamination tent but as it turned out, it was not needed. The situation de-escalated quickly when it was determined that the cause was pepper spray and that fewer victims would be received. WA6OPS contacted the OC-EMS Medical Disaster Management Coordinator. She and K6MHD served as liaison to that agency, answering inquiries about hospital diversion status. Communications returned to normal and our operations secured at 7 PM.
* ReddiNet® is a commercial UHF digital inter-hospital communications system sold to hospitals by Healthcare Association of Southern California and maintained by the Communications Department of the County of Orange.
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This page updated 1 July 2009
Emergency Activation #108: Shortly before noon on Saturday, November 15, 2008, a wildfire broke out northeast of Brea-Olinda High School, possibly sparked by embers from the "Freeway Complex Fire" that had been burning near the 91 Freeway at Green River Road since 9 AM. There was concern that this fire could threaten the Kindred Healthcare specialty hospital in Brea if it jumped westward over the 57 Freeway. HDSCS activated an on-air net and members checked in for possible service. When the fire did jump the freeway about 12:45 PM, four members were immediately dispatched to the hospital so that they could get there before traffic became too congested. At 2:45 PM, as the operators were in place and in communication with the HDSCS net from Kindred Brea, a page was received from St. Jude hospital and a call came in from Placentia Linda hospital, each requesting Amateur Radio operators. St. Jude was receiving heavy smoke and had gone on diversion status. Placentia-Linda had been advised that it might receive chronic pulmonary patients from skilled nursing facilities. HDSCS members were immediately sent from the net to these facilities. At 3:15 PM, a decision was made to close and evacuate Kindred Brea, moving 36 patients by ambulance to four other Kindred hospitals in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Ten of these patients were on ventilators. HDSCS operators assisted with communications during the evacuation and our net kept officials at Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency apprised of the situation. All patient-carrying ambulances departed by 6 PM. Operations continued at Placentia Linda Hospital until 6:20 PM. St. Jude requested that three of our members remain in critical areas, so relief operators were sent as needed. The net continued through the night and secured at 2:15 PM Sunday. Responding to the hospitals were Ken Allen KI6NBB, Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU, Tim Beringer KI6RVS, Paul Broden K6MHD, Louie DeArman K6SM, Reid Green KF6LOK, Bill Preston KZ3G, Robbie Preston KI6KYX, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Rick Soikkeli AE6RS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Dave West KI6EPI and Woody Woodward NJ6W. Serving as Net Controls were April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV and Jim McLaughlin AB6UF. Tom Gaccione WB2LRH operated from the Orange County Health Care Agency's Departmental Operations Center and kept the officials there informed.
In the photo at right: On December 3, 2008, Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency awarded certificates to the HDSCS members who provided communications to hospitals and OC-EMSA during the Freeway Complex Fire (see above). Presenting was Mike Steinkraus N6PTN, OC-EMSA's Medical Disaster Management Coordinator. Upper frame (L to R): Tim Beringer KI6RVS, Monique Beringer KI6RVT and Patricia Beringer KI6RVU. Lower frame back row: Joe Moell KØOV, April Moell WA6OPS, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Alex Valdez K9BLK and Ken Allen KI6NBB. Front row: Louie DeArman K6SM, Dave West KI6EPI, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Mike Steinkraus N6PTN. Not pictured: Paul Broden K6MHD, Reid Green KF6LOK, Bill Preston NZ3W, Robbie Preston KI6KYX, Rick Soikkeli AE6RS and Woody Woodward NJ6W.
Emergency Activation #107: Telephones and data systems at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton went down suddenly at about 9:30 AM on Wednesday, September 24, 2008. The hospital's Telecommunications Manager immediately sent a group page to HDSCS leaders, who responded by establishing an on-air net and dispatching the closest available members to the 300-bed facility. Ken Simpson W6KOS was first to get there, followed shortly by Dale Petes KI6ANS and Louie DeArman K6SM. Tom Gaccione WB2LRH and Alex Valdez K9BLK arrived a few minutes after that. They set up communications between the telephone switchboard area (PBX), Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department and Operating Room areas. Operators remained on site until all repairs and adjustments were complete and the system was stable, securing at 1:30 PM. Cheryl Simpson was the first External Net Control and made calls to activate members, relieved by April Moell WA6OPS. Joe Moell KØOV was too far away to respond at the time, but he also made calls to get other responders to the hospital.
Emergency Activation #106: An equipment failure caused a sudden outage of all telephones and data services at Hoag Memorial Hospital in the early evening of September 11, 2008. April Moell WA6OPS received a page at 6:48 PM and immediately activated HDSCS. Two members, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH and Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, were close by and responded to the hospital immediately, arriving within 45 minutes of the activation. Close behind were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Bob Evans W9TQC and Dave West KI6EPI. Although the hospital's initial assessment indicated that a five-hour outage was possible, it was fortunate that some phones began to come back on line before 8 PM. As repairs were completed, the hams began to stand down and operations were secured at 10:40 PM. Ken Simpson W6KOS, Joe Moell KØOV and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH were staged and ready to respond if the need had continued. April Moell WA6OPS was Net Control and base station operator.
Emergency Activation #105: A lunchtime earthquake of Richter magnitude 5.4, centered in the Chino Hills, caused an immediate activation of HDSCS on July 29, 2008. Several members established an on-air net within seconds and began to check the status of our supported facilities by telephone and personal visit. Fourteen of 35 Orange County hospitals were within 15 miles of the epicenter, making them our highest priority. Communications disruptions at these hospitals were brief except at Kindred Healthcare in Westminster, where phone lines to the outside went down for approximately 30 minutes. Fred Lochner WA6FRA discovered this when he went to check on the hospital. He remained to provide backup communications until service was restored. Minor injuries from falling parts of a drop ceiling occurred at a therapy and wellness center in Brea that is operated by St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton. Paul Broden K6MHD went to the Command Center at St. Jude and was prepared to communicate with the Brea site, but that building was quickly evacuated and a response there was not needed. Within 90 minutes, our net had determined the status of all Orange County hospitals and had passed this information to OC Emergency Medical Services Agency. We also established communications with the Amateur Radio nets of Orange County RACES, Los Angeles County ARES and Orange County Red Cross. HDSCS Net Control stations were Paul Broden K6MHD and April Moell WA6OPS. Other participating members were Bob Bertels N6VAN, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Susan Hafner KD6YMH, Dennis Kidder W6DQ, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Joe Moell KØOV, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Matthew Stofle W7MWS, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK, Dave West KI6EPI, Woody Woodward NJ6W and Larry Woolf KF6YCM.
Emergency Activation #104: A failure in the telephone system at Mission Regional Hospital occurred on July 28, 2008 as workers were servicing the uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The hospital's Disaster Coordinator followed the established procedures to notify HDSCS. Our Assistant Coordinator Jim McLaughlin AB6UF received the hospital's call and immediately contacted John and Corky Walker, AC7GK and KG6YWY, who were driving in the area. John and Corky arrived at the hospital within ten minutes of being alerted and learned that one building had lost the use of all telephones. They put out a call for more operators and began handling messages between the two parts of the facility, supplementing the business-band transceivers that a few of the hospital staff members had been using. The phone outage lasted approximately four hours, after which the ham operators stood by for an additional half hour to make sure that the system was stable. Other hams who served at the hospital or were en route when repairs were completed were Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Al Way KC6LNP and Dave West KI6EPI. Net Control and outside base station operators were Paul Broden K6MHD and April Moell WA6OPS.
Emergency Activation #103: At about 5 PM on Sunday, June 22, 2008, HDSCS member Jim Riedel K6EEE returned home to find that power was out at his home and in his neighborhood. Traffic lights in the area were also not working. Following established procedures, Jim checked on his nearest hospital, Saddleback Memorial in San Clemente. When he couldn't get through, he grabbed his go-kit and headed for the hospital, alerting Coordinator April Moell WA6OPS as he left. Just before he arrived at the hospital, HDSCS was officially activated by a cell phone call from the hospital. Jim quickly established Amateur Radio communications from the hospital's Command Center. Meanwhile, April had two additional operators, John and Corky Walker, AC7GK and KG6YWY, alerted and on the way to the hospital. Internal telephone communication in the facility was normal and most outgoing calls could be made, but incoming calls were not getting through. April notified the EMS Central Point that the hospital could be contacted via HDSCS for incoming emergencies while Joe Moell KØOV served as outside Net Control and base station. Commercial power was restored at 6:19 PM but HDSCS stayed on site until 7 PM to insure that all power and telephone systems were stable.
Emergency Activation #102: At 9:35 AM on February 1, 2008, April Moell WA6OPS received a cell phone call from the Disaster/Safety Coordinator for Saddleback Memorial hospitals at Laguna and San Clemente. A telephone switch failure had occurred at the San Clemente facility, rendering half of the outgoing circuits inoperable and the other half subject to overload. April activated Core Team responders John and Corky Walker, AC7GK and KG6YWY, who arrived at the hospital in less than 25 minutes. John set up and operated his portable station at the hospital Command Center, while Corky became a radio "shadow" for the House Supervisor. Meanwhile, Dave West KI6EPI was activated to the Laguna facility to set up a backup link. April served as outside base station to make phone calls as needed. Circuits were repaired by 11:10 AM, after which our members remained on site for a half hour to make sure that the communications systems were stable.
Emergency Activation #101: At 9 AM on Sunday, October 21, 2007, HDSCS was paged by the Orange County EMS Communications Center. A power failure had occurred at Chapman Medical Center in Orange and there were intermittent problems with the generator. External telephone communications had completely failed and internal phones were intermittent. A HDSCS net was activated and Ken Simpson W6KOS immediately went to the hospital, arriving in about 25 minutes (photo at right). Following soon after were Dale Petes KI6ANS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR and Dave West KI6EPI. To provide internal communications, they deployed to the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, a medical-surgical unit and a sub-acute care unit. April Moell WA6OPS and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH made calls to line up additional operators to relieve the first responders if needed. Telephone technicians arrived to fix the phones at about 10:30 AM and the lines were working again about 40 minutes after that. HDSCS operators remained on the units until 11:45 AM to make sure that the system was stable before securing operations. Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ was the primary net control and outside base station during this event.
Alerts, Drills and Standby Operations
Drill #166: A statewide medical disaster was scheduled for Thursday, June 18, 2009 but the statewide aspect was cancelled because of hospitals' recent involvement with the H1N1 flu outbreak. Nevertheless, 16 Orange County hospitals decided to go ahead with the drill at some level and most of them asked for HDSCS involvement. The drill scenario was a more serious flu pandemic that caused patients to swarm the hospitals and for them to run out of critical supplies. Most of the hospitals also simulated communications overloads or failures. HDSCS members deployed to the hospitals as those facilities used their telephone and paging procedures to activate us. A HDSCS communicator also reported to the county Emergency Medical Services Agency Operations Center in Santa Ana. The HDSCS main net and some additional frequencies were kept busy with supply-related messages. Of particular interest to the hospitals was determining where additional N95 face masks could be found. Many messages also related to stocks of Tamiflu. Eight of the hams were new to HDSCS and were paired with experienced members to help them learn our procedures and message-handling techniques. Responding to hospitals and EMS were Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU, Tim Beringer KI6RVS, Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Chappell KE6TWM, Jerry Couchman KE6KZR, Bruce Crabtree KI6RZW, Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Bob McCord K6IWA, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, David Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Al Way KC6LNP, Dave West KI6EPI and Woody Woodward NJ6W. Primary Net Control and Drill Facilitator was April Moell WA6OPS. Also serving as Net Control were Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ.
Drill #165: Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center staged a HazMat emergency drill on June 10, 2009 with HDSCS participating. Decontamination procedures were practiced and a communications overload was simulated, resulting in many messages being handled by the hams. The Drill was well planned and executed by Steve Shrubb, the hospital's Disaster Coordinator. He even added some surprises for the hams, such as a potentially contaminated victim showing up in the Hospital Command Center! Jim McLaughlin AB6UF was the HDSCS Team Leader for this event and served as internal/external communications relay and Net Control. Ken Simpson W6KOS operated from the Command Center and Clay Stearns KE6TZR was in the Emergency Department. Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ was the outside base station.
Standby #99: It was another all-nighter for HDSCS members on January 27, 2009 as Saddleback Hospital in San Clemente performed a major upgrade of its telephone and data systems. A team of ham operators was on scene at 9 PM as all phones and the fire alarm system were taken down. Our communicators provided backups for critical unit-to-unit links as well as to the outside world. Incoming/outgoing trunk lines and the alarm system were restored by midnight but work continued for several more hours as individual extensions were wired into the new system. By morning, the new system was stable and enough lines were in place that the Amateur Radio operation could be secured at 7 AM. Taking shifts at the hospital were Bruce Crabtree KI6RZW, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and John Walker AC7GK. Handling the outside links were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI. Additional members were on alert and ready to deploy quickly if the operation had lasted longer.
Standby #98: Huntington Beach Hospital performed an upgrade of its telephone system starting in the late evening of Tuesday, January 20, 2009. HDSCS members provided back-up communications in three key areas (Emergency Department, Intensive Care and medical-surgical floor) plus a "shadow" to the House Supervisor. Everything went very smoothly, with operators arriving at 11:30 PM and the work beginning at midnight. All phones were down for 25 minutes. A half-hour after they were restored and stable, our operations ended. Jim McLaughlin AB6UF was the on-site Team Leader, assisted by Dan Dawes KD6YPJ, Justin Miller KI6AFZ and Ken Simpson W6KOS. The outside base station was provided by April Moell WA6OPS.
Standby #97: A planned telephone system upgrade took place at Saddleback Hospital in San Clemente on Sunday, December 28, 2008. Work was to be performed on the telephone switch and a new uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Because of the possibility that internal and/or external telephone communications could be negatively impacted, hospital officials requested HDSCS to be on site and ready to provide standby support. Three HDSCS operators arrived on site at 7:30 PM, one half hour before work was scheduled to start. Within 10 minutes they were operating from the hospital's rooftop antenna. Telephone technicians were delayed in arriving until 9:15. After some preliminary work, all phones were taken off line at 10:15 with an expectation that service would be returned by 11:00. As our communicators provided unit-to-unit messaging, additional HDSCS operators were activated to relieve the starting team. By 12:15 AM, the telephone switch was brought back on line and our normal 30-minute countdown to completion began. It is good that the HDSCS members remained in place because 15 minutes later, the new UPS failed in a rather spectacular manner. Telephone service, minus the UPS, was restored by 1:30 AM and the event was fully secured at 2:10 AM. Communicators at the hospital were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Tom Hall N6DGK, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Ken Simpson W6KOS and John Walker AC7GK. The outside base station operator was Jim McLaughlin AB6UF.
Drill #164: The annual communications drill among the Amateur Radio emergency communications organizations of Orange County took place Saturday morning, November 15, 2008. In this drill, HDSCS, Red Cross and the RACES units of cities and the county exchange messages related to a simulated disaster. This time it was an extension of the Great Shakeout (see Drill #163 below). HDSCS simulated communications from several hospitals as well as Emergency Medical Services to help the other groups learn how to contact us and exchange messages with us in future disasters. The drill ended early because of a wildfire that broke out in north Orange County (see Activation #108 above), which required activation of HDSCS and some of the other groups.
Drill #163:
"Golden Guardian," a statewide homeland security and disaster preparedness practice, is the largest of its kind in the nation. It is intended to improve coordination of governments at all levels, volunteer organizations and the private sector for response to manmade and natural emergencies. In the November 13, 2008 Golden Guardian exercise, we fielded the largest number of members (44) to help the largest number of hospitals (32) of any single-day drill in the 28 years of HDSCS. This time, Golden Guardian was combined with the Great Shakeout, simulating a Richter 7.8 earthquake that devastates the infrastructure of the county. The HDSCS emphasis was a realistic near-real-time response using our automatic Core Team procedures. Instead of members going to the hospitals prior to the simulated shaker, these responders pre-staged nearby and went into the facilities during the chaos after the temblor. This taught them what it is like to enter, get to Command Centers and get on the air with their portable equipment under these conditions. Some of the hospitals simulated damage that required evacuation of patients, coordinated by the county's Emergency Medical Services Agency. Our members received their assignments just a few hours before the event. For training purposes, they were not told in advance which hospitals would be evacuating and which would be receiving evacuees. They got that information, and other message traffic to be handled, by working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Incident Commander, the Liaison Officer, and other staff members in Hospital Incident Command System positions (photo above right). Messages sent and received included requests for ambulances to move evacuated victims, including patients on ventilators and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit infants. We also passed orders for oxygen tanks and for pharmaceuticals such as Cipro and morphine. Responding to the hospitals were Ken Allen KI6NBB, Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU, Tim Beringer KI6RVU, Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Crabtree KI6RZW, Dan Dawes KD6YPJ, Louie DeArman K6SM, Dave Elder KA6TBF, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Reid Green KF6LOK, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Becky Katzen KI6OEM, Mark Kern KE6QXF, Ted Kramer NB6N, Bruce Lent K6HRU, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Duane Mariotti WB9RER, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Joe Moell KØOV, David Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Robbie Preston KI6KYX, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Paterik Tobias KI6EYT, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK, Dave West KI6EPI, Woody Woodward NJ6W, Jack Woolf KF6YQQ, Larry Woolf KF6YCM and Larry Zysman N6BNM. Net Control stations were April Moell WA6OPS and Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP. Ken Simpson W6KOS operated from the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Department Operations Center, where decisions were made regarding patient transfers. Only three of the participants are hospital employees. The remainder are hams from the community who have attended our specialized training sessions and took time off to support this valuable mission by being dedicated medical communicators.
Standby #96: HDSCS provided backup communications support as Lynch Ambulance Service switched all of its phone lines over to its new headquarters building in Anaheim on November 10, 2008. There was concern about communications being lost with hospitals and other care facilities during the transition. Dale Petes KI6ANS, stationed at Lynch, was in constant contact with Paul Broden K6MHD at his base station, both ready to pass messages between Lynch and the hospitals if needed. Fortunately, the transition went smoothly and no relaying was needed.
Standby #95: UCI Medical Center in Orange performed a major changeover of telephone equipment beginning late Saturday evening, November 8, 2008. Because of the size of the facility and its status as a Trauma Center with several specialized Intensive Care units, HDSCS placed operators in ten key areas, plus a Net Control and outside Base Station to provide backup communications during the switchover. Message traffic during the outage included urgent calls between the Laboratory and Emergency Department regarding specimen collection and test results. Our operators also helped check status of phone extensions as the new equipment came on line. Work was completed and checked in time to secure operations at 5 AM. In alphabetical order, the starting and relief operators were Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Tim Beringer KI6RVS, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU, Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Crabtree KI6RZW, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Reid Green KF6LOK, Tom Hall N6DGK, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Paterik Tobias KI6EYT, Alex Valdez K9BLK, John Walker AC7GK and Woody Woodward NJ6W. Performing Net Control and Base Station duties were April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV and Jon Schaffer W6UFS.
Standby #94: On Saturday morning, October 25, 2008 at 1:30 AM, three HDSCS communicators were in place on a standby basis at Hoag Memorial Hospital for backup communications during a two-hour upgrade of the telephone system in the almost 500-bed facility. They were Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK and Ken Simpson W6KOS. An outside HDSCS base station, operated by Paul Broden K6MHD, was also on the air to provide message relays and to activate additional operators if problems were to develop and extend the work. That did not happen, and operations secured about 3:30 AM.
Drill #162: Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center simulated a HazMat incident with chemical exposure as the scenario for its drill on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Following established procedure, the hospital activated HDSCS via pager at the point in the drill when it was notified of the HazMat incident at a sporting event and activated its emergency Command Center. Responding to the hospital to provide backup communications were Ken Simpson W6KOS, Corky Walker KG6YWY and John Walker AC7GK. They were deployed to the hospital's Command Center, Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit. Since no other agencies were active in this drill, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and April Moell WA6OPS simulated communications for Emergency Medical Services Agency and the city EOCs of Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach, handling such messages as requests for HazMat mitigation supplies. Fred Lochner WA6FRA simulated a response to and message handling with Saddleback Memorial Hospital, a sister facility. Paul Broden K6MHD was Net Control.
Drill #161: West Anaheim Medical Center (WAMC) staged a drill on June 4, 2008 that was quite similar to a recent drill at the Saddleback Memorial hospitals (see drill #158). There were two simulated explosions at a sister facility that resulted in about a dozen volunteer victims arriving at WAMC by simulated transport and needing to be decontaminated. Soon walk-in victims were also simulated by hospital employees. The hospital set up and utilized its decontamination and surge capacity tents. Four HDSCS members responded when the hospital used its pre-established alerting procedure. The communicated internally from the Command Center, Emergency Department, Outside Triage and as a staff "shadow." External message traffic was exchanged in simulation of ReddiNet* failure. Going to the hospital were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and Woody Woodward KJ6LE. Serving as Net Control and outside communicators were April Moell WA6OPS and Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP.
Standby #93: Five HDSCS members arrived at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center at 8 AM on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 for a brief standby operation. The hospital was upgrading its phone system and needed to shut it all down briefly to complete the project. The hospital treated this as a drill and distributed business-band handi-talkies to some key staff members. We served as additional communicators and "shadows" as needed. Following a staff meeting to orient everyone, the work began and went smoothly. At the hospital were Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Dan Dawes KD6YPJ, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Fred Wagner KQ6Q. Serving as Net Control and outside base station was April Moell WA6OPS.
Drill #160: A simulated incident at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station sent trauma and radiologically exposed patients to Mission Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo on May 7, 2008. The hospital used this drill to test its HICS procedures, practice decontamination of patients, and utilize Amateur Radio for backup communications. In accordance with established procedures, the hospital followed the paging protocol to activate HDSCS as it opened the emergency Command Center. Two HDSCS members, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM and Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, responded to the hospital to provide communications between the Command Center and the Emergency Department, which are in different buildings on the hospital campus. Another communicator, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, traveled with the hospital's Public Information Officer (PIO) to Southern California Edison's News/Information Center in Irvine. The base station and Net Control was Ken Simpson W6KOS. April Moell WA6OPS simulated communications with Orange County EMS.
Drill #159: La Palma Intercommunity Hospital held a disaster drill on Friday, April 18, 2008, with HDSCS as an important participant. The hospital simulated two explosions at a medical office building across the street that resulted in numerous casualties, a sewage problem. Failure of all telephone communications and the ReddiNet* were simulated. In accordance with established procedures, hospital staff immediately activated HDSCS via pager to obtain communications support. We provided on-site communications as and sent messages to the outside to obtain additional supplies and provide diversion status to EMS Agency. Members participating were Paul Broden K6MHD, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Woody Woodward KJ6LE. April Moell WA6OPS was Net Control.
Drill #158: HDSCS participated in a two-hospital drill on March 18, 2008. Saddleback Memorial facilities in Laguna Hills and San Clemente tested their response plans with simulated simultaneous "dirty bomb" explosions in their respective parking lots. Staff members dealt with victim injuries, facility damage, radiological contamination and communications problems. This two-hour drill also involved local fire departments, Orange County Sheriff staff, advisors from San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and Orange County Emergency Medical Service Agency observers. HDSCS Net Control was Jim McLaughlin AB6UF. Responding to the two hospitals were Tom Hall N6DGK, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Corky Walker KG6YWY and John Walker AC7GK. Simulating other agencies and performing message relays were Allan Bullock KD6LCL and Jim Riedel K6EEE.
Standby #92: A 12-hour standby operation at Irvine Medical Center on January 18 kicked off HDSCS communications activities for 2008 An old telephone system was being replaced and circuits for a new building were being added. This necessitated a total telephone outage, followed by intermittent partial outages for several hours. Work began at 10 PM Friday and was not fully completed until 9:30 AM Saturday. According to John Walker AC7GK, who was one of the Command Center operators, "We handled a lot of message traffic. In my log, I have calls to Security, to Housekeeping, a request for a Respiratory Therapist, and coordination of admissions. All the while, we were keeping staff informed of the progress of the phone work and advising technicians of problems in restored phone banks. Everyone performed smoothly and efficiently. The radio contacts were concise and professional." Other communicators in the hospital were Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Mark Kern KE6QXF, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Corky Walker KF6LOK and Larry Zysman N6BNM. Taking shifts as HDSCS base stations, available to make calls to any outside location, were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, April Moell WA6OPS, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI, Ken Simpson W6KOS.
Standby #91: An area-wide power failure affected portions of San Clemente beginning about 9:30 PM on Christmas Eve 2007. Jim Riedel K6EEE immediately went to check on the Saddleback Hospital building in that city. Fortunately, the power failure did not affect internal/external telephones. Jim remained on site, in radio communication with Assistant Coordinator Tom Gaccione WB2LRH. They notified the county's Emergency Medical Services Central Point of the situation. Power was restored at 10:53 PM and Jim remained on site until 11:35 PM.
Drill #157: A mock explosion took place at Angel Stadium just before 10 AM on November 14, 2007 as part of the annual Golden Guardian exercise (photo at left by WB2LRH). About 300 volunteer "victims" were either at that site or pre-staged at the participating hospitals. Playing an important part in this drill, HDSCS members were dispatched to the Orange County Emergency Medical Services (OC-EMS) Departmental Operations Center, the OC Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Loma Ridge, and 15 hospitals, including 3 trauma centers. We also provided drill coordination support to EMS officials at the explosion site. As usual, we insisted that each hospital follow its pre-established activation procedures to insure that they will be familiar with them in the next actual emergency. Our members practiced rapid response and equipment setup in each hospital. Working directly with hospital personnel, we passed requests for ventilators and other equipment, as well as calls for additional medical staff. We also handled patient messages, such as coordinating the transport of a burn victim to a special treatment facility. At EMS facilities were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Ken Simpson W6KOS. Responding to the hospitals were Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Louie DeArman K6SM, Kim DeCelles K9KIM, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Bob McCord K6IWA, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Matt Stofle W7MWS, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK, Al Way KC6LNP and Woody Woodward KJ6LE. Net Controls and base stations were April Moell WA6OPS and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI.
HDSCS was on high alert as the Santiago Wildfire threatened homes and facilities in eastern Orange County. The arson-caused blaze, which began about 6 PM on Sunday, October 21, 2007, consumed over 27,000 acres. The point of origin was approximately two miles from the hilltop Orange County Emergency Operations Center (OC-EOC), which houses the ReddiNet* Central Point. At 6:30 PM Sunday, HDSCS activated a two-meter net and sent Jon Schaffer W6UFS to the OC-EOC. This was to insure that backup communications would be available there, even if roads became impassible. Shortly thereafter, Allen Bullock KD6LCL was deployed to the OC Heathcare Agency's Strategic Operations Center. W6UFS was later relieved by Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, who remained at OC-EOC until 6 AM Monday. During that time, HDSCS monitored the status of all nearby hospitals, including Chapman Medical Center, Tustin Hospital, Irvine Regional Medical Center, Western Medical Center of Santa Ana and Saddleback Hospital of Laguna Hills. With the immediate threat to the OC-EOC relieved and hospitals not requiring on-site support, HDSCS moved on Monday morning to a high-alert status with constant but informal net presence, as well as checks on potentially affected hospitals as appropriate. Members also used this net to keep Coordinators apprised of their availability for immediate deployment if conditions change. The formal net was discontinued on Wednesday evening and the Statewide Medical Exercise took place as planned on Thursday (see next item). Net Control stations for the fire alert included April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Dave West KI6EPI and Woody Woodward KJ6LE. (Photo by Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell)
Drill #156: Amid southern California wildfires, the annual California Statewide Medical and Health Disaster Exercise took place on October 25, 2007. Although accreditation requirements call for every hospital to drill at least twice annually, most Orange County hospitals opted out of this drill because of wildfire activity and their upcoming participation in a much larger county exercise that is scheduled in November. Only 4 HDSCS-supported hospitals were in the statewide drill this time, compared to 17 in the previous year. Hospitals were encouraged to test their surge capacity plans and drill throughout the day, to practice change-of-shift procedures. Our involvement began at 7 AM and ended at 4 PM. Hospitals originated messages appropriate for their drill scenarios and practiced new Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) procedures. Communicators at the hospitals were Bill Hegart K6WIL, Bob McCord K6IWA, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK and Woody Woodward KJ6LE. April Moell WA6OPS and Ken Simpson W6KOS served as outside base stations and net controls.
Drill #155: HDSCS was heavily involved in the yearly Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) drill for Orange County that took place on Saturday, October 6, 2007. The scenario was a historic rainstorm that caused flooding in the county and the eventual failure of Prado Dam. Our goal was to pass simulated messages between each of our supported hospitals and their local municipalities as represented by city and county RACES organizations, in accordance with our Memorandum of Understanding. Also included were typical messages that would be relayed for the Orange County Emergency Medical Services' Agency Operations Center (EMS-AOC) and the EMS dispatch Central Point. We also exchanged messages with Orange County Red Cross. Over 50 messages were originated by HDSCS in the two-hour drill. There were also many replies to these messages handled, as well as message traffic for us that was originated by the RACES groups. Many of these messages were relayed on two HDSCS nets, a main net and a special net for south OC. These nets were busy non-stop! Other messages were passed via various city/county RACES repeaters and simplex frequencies. HDSCS Net Control operators were April and Joe Moell, WA6OPS and KØOV. Other participating HDSCS members were Paul Broden K6MHD, Kim DeCelles K9KIM, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Bob McCord K6IWA, David Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Matthew Stofle W7MWS, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI.
Drill #154: On the weekend of September 15 - 16, 2007, HDSCS members participated in a Volunteer Mutual Aid Drill (VMAD) at the Orange County Sheriff's Laser Village training facility. Learning modules were presented, followed by simulated scenarios. Communicators from local CERT groups, RACES, and Red Cross took part. Saturday's participants were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Kim DeCelles K9KIM and Clay Stearns KE6TZR. Galel Fajardo, Sr. KB6MOH, Galel Fajardo, Jr. KD6AYP and Larry Woolf KF6YCM were there on Sunday.
Standby #90: HDSCS operators took their go-kits to Huntington Beach Hospital on June 9, 2007 while workers relocated a 200-pair telephone cable as part of a construction project. For almost three hours, all phones were out in the Laboratory, Radiology and Operating suites. The hams passed medical messages into and out of these critical areas, including laboratory results and requests for blood draws. At the hospital were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Matthew Stofle KI6BLY and Dave West KI6EPI. Outside base stations were David Mofford W7KTS and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI.
Meetings and Other Activities
Field Day is an annual communications preparedness exercise of the American Radio Relay League in which HDSCS has participated for many years. 2009 was the eighth year that our Field Day has taken place at Huntington Beach Hospital, one of our supported facilities, and it has never been better. The hospital's decontamination and surge capacity tents were set up to house our stations and employees and staff were encouraged to visit our operation. One of our stations used a large 20-15-20 meter Yagi with rotatable 40-meter dipole. The setup was so large that the north parking lot was cordoned off and a separate tent and generator were used just for this station. For the second time, we were joined by members and leaders of Scout troop 1134 of Huntington Beach. In a simulation of emergency damage to the building that would not allow the roof to be used, the Scouts erected a lodgepole structure that could serve as support for one of our wire antennas. Afterwards, HDSCS member Rick Soikkeli AE6RS took the Scouts into the HBH basement, where he presented a four-hour course leading 20 Scouts toward their radio merit badges. In the afternoon was a ham radio licensing and upgrade session. The new hams were put on the air almost immediately. Besides the voice operations (photo at left), three members operated CW mode (Morse Code), two of them doing it through the wee hours of the night. Many thanks to Field Day Co-chairs Dennis Kidder W6DQ and Ken Simpson W6KOS for putting together the event and preparing the results package to submit to ARRL. Also thanks to Kevin Balmforth for the use of his callsign, N6ER (for N-6-Emergency-Room). Photos of this year's Field Day will be uploaded soon, but meanwhile you can Click here for a page of photos from Field Day 2008.
The HDSCS membership meeting of June 15, 2009 was devoted to training and preparation for the statewide pandemic flu drill that took place three days later. April Moell WA6OPS presented a lesson on message preparation and handling that included the essential components of messages, getting the information, transmitting it clearly and receiving it accurately.
HDSCS participated in the annual Long Beach area Scout-O-Rama at Heartwell Park on June 6, 2009. We were part of an Amateur Radio display that also included on-air contacts, Morse code introduction, and hidden transmitter hunting. HDSCS set up a simulated hospital Command Post with two Amateur Radio stations. The mock scenario involved hospital damage and a loss of normal communications. When a Scout arrived to participate, he or she was assigned to one of two HDSCS communicators at the Command Post to handle messages (photo at right). They included requests for blood, patient transfer, and status reports to county Emergency Medical Services. The Scout made the call to the appropriate entity and read the message. They found that it took a little effort to coordinate talking and using the mike button. They also learned about message priority and hospital abbreviations. Scouts who handled messages earned special certificates. This was the seventh year that HDSCS has participated in this Scout event. On-site members who set up the Command Post and assisted with the Scouts were Paul Broden K6MHD, Ray Rittenhouse KF6WZN, Dennis Kidder W6DQ, David Mofford W7KTS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Robby Preston KI6KYW, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ and Ken Simpson W6KOS. Home base stations playing various roles during the traffic-handling included Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI, Alex Valdez K9BLK and Dave West KI6EPI. Also participating in the Amateur Radio display at this event were members Tom Gaccione WB2LRH and Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM. Click for a page of photos from HDSCS at last year's Scout-O-Rama.
The annual HDSCS Orientation and Review Workshop took place at the Schilling Training Center of Care Ambulance Service on Saturday, March 28, 2009. It was a full day filled with reviews of basic concepts, procedures, and preparedness, along with updates on handling medical messages and doing realistic drills. Members brought in their "go kits" and portable stations for show and tell. They received an update on the new Orange County Mass Casualty Plan from Dr. Samuel Stratton KA6LBN, Medical Director for the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency. There was a new learning module on non-traditional communications modes. A major highlight of the day was the "disaster potluck" with everything from pizza, lasagnia and chicken to California rolls, seafood salad, fresh fruit, homemade cakes and cookies. Click for more about our annual workshop.
HDSCS held its traditional annual Year-End/Year-Beginning meeting, complete with the "Final Exam" on January 30, 2009 at the Schilling Training Center of Care Ambulance Service in Orange. As always, attendees were divided into teams to answer the questions, which included hospital terminology and practical in-hospital communications techniques. The team with the best score received prizes and everyone got a share of the well-chiseled UBCB (Unbelievably Big Chocolate Bar). Certificates and HDSCS coins were presented to the most active members of the previous year, the 2008 Disaster Dozen. They are (in alphabetical order): Paul Broden K6MHD, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Joe Moell KØOV, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Alex Valdez K9BLK, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI (photo at right). Winner of Outstanding New Member awards for exceptional participation by persons who joined during 2008 were Tim Beringer KI6RVS, Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU and Justin Miller KI6AFZ.
North Pole Network provided a great finish to 2008. A HDSCS team was activated to Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) on December 19 to link patients and staff to the North Pole station. This was a busy year with dozens of young patients visited. It took all afternoon and well into the evening to get to them all, especially because many required isolation procedures (photo at left). Santa didn't mind, even though he was into the crunch of getting ready for his Christmas Eve ride. The sleigh was already being loaded and lots of last minute toy assembly work was going on in the workshop. As in previous years, we were amazed at Santa's knowledge of the patients (and toys!) as we went from room to room. Lots of smiles and tears were encountered throughout the day by patients, family members, hospital staff and NPN communicators. It was the best non-emergency of the year! This was the 33rd year of North Pole Network by KØOV and WA6OPS in Orange County and the 28th year of HDSCS's involvement in it. Click for an in-depth report and more photos.
HDSCS held a membership meeting on December 3, 2008 to thoroughly debrief and discuss participation in the Golden Guardian earthquake drill. Mike Steinkraus N6PTN , Medical Disaster Management Coordinator of Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency, presented certificates to members who provided communications to hospitals and OC-EMSA during the Freeway Complex Fire (see Activation #108 above).
During 2008, HDSCS Antenna Team members were involved in the installation and testing of new Amateur Radio antennas at ten Orange County hospitals plus the headquarters of Care Ambulance Service. Seven of these facilities now have at least two operational antennas to provide external communications from multiple locations. This is important because, for instance, different locations may be used for the Command Center in a phone outage versus a multiple-casualty incident or earthquake. All but four of the HDSCS client hospitals now have rooftop antennas for our use.
Education and preparation for the Golden Guardian exercise (See Drill #163 above) brought HDSCS members to Kaiser Hospital in Irvine on November 7, 2008. Our automatic Core Team response procedures were reviewed and members saw three videos on the effects of earthquakes on medical facilities and their staff members.
April and Joe Moell presented a five-hour mini-workshop on Saturday, October 25, 2008 for a dozen of the newest HDSCS members. This session brought those new members "up to speed" in their knowledge and preparation for supporting hospitals. Basics of hospital support, the Hospital Incident Command System, activation procedures, message protocol, "go kits" and personal preparation were well covered in this workshop. This event was especially for members who had not been able to attend the annual all-day training workshop in March.
HDSCS provided all communications for the St. Joseph Hospital Medical teams at the 2008 Disneyland Half-Marathon on August 31, 2008. An estimated 14,000 runners took to the course that went through Disneyland and out into Anaheim, as far away as Anaheim Stadium. Twenty-two HDSCS members were up well before dawn get into place at medical aid stations at the finish and thoughout the route (photo above right). They also roamed the course on bicycles with the medical teams and provided communications at critical water stations. Click for more about this important public service event.
Field trips to UCI Medical Center were among the summer 2008 activities for HDSCS. Between July 23 and August 21, small groups of members received the opportunity to visit important areas within this Center facility, including the Emergency Department, Intensive Care, Critical Care, Neonatal Intensive Care, Pediatric Intensive Care and Burn Unit. Our host and guide was Sherlene Stepp, RN and Clinical Nurse Supervisor at UCI-MC (in center of photo above left).
The annual HDSCS Termite Contest took place during the entire month of August 2008. Members were encouraged to "come out of the woodwork" and talk to their fellow members on the primary HDSCS two-meter repeater. Points for on-air activity were awarded and the ten highest scorers received prizes during a "Termite Party" and barbecue at the home of Dennis Kidder W6DQ on September 13.
Many HDSCS members are wearing special pins to recognize their prior service to medical facilities. These 1.2-inch HDSCS logo pins are being given to members who have provided Amateur Radio communications within our supported hospitals when telephones were inoperative or overloaded in a planned or unplanned event. Pins are presented to new members after their first service within a hospital under the same circumstances. Approximately fifty HDSCS members have qualified for pins so far. According to HDSCS leader April Moell WA6OPS, "This is a great way to recognize our members for doing what they train and prepare to do, namely to help hospital patients by providing essential communications for their caregivers. Thanks to Dave West KI6EPI for donating these fine pins."
West Anaheim Medical Center hosted the HDSCS membership meeting on May 27, 2008 with some yummy desserts. The meeting topic was "Messages and More." It was a training session by Dennis Kidder W6DQ and April Moell WA6OPS on formal and tactical "traffic" that would be handled in various types of hospital emergencies, ranging from single-hospital phone outages to widespread disasters. Included were pointers on message origination, relaying, net procedures and ordering of supplies. The first certificate for successful completion of the new Certified Hospital Communicator testing program was presented to Ken Simpson W6KOS.
HDSCS was an important part of EMS Appreciation Day at Irvine Regional Park on Sunday, May 18, 2008. Besides a display of our capabilities and awards, we set up two VHF/UHF stations so that young people could send simulated emergency messages. A demonstration of direction finding was also included, showing how hams locate stuck transmitters and other interfering radio signals. Staffing this display and putting the kids on the air were Dennis Kidder W6DQ, April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ, Ken Simpson W6KOS, David Mofford W7KTS (at right) and John Walker AC7GK. Base station operators receiving the messages were Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI, Jay Thompson W6JAY, Richard Thompson WA6NOL and Dave West KI6EPI.
For the second year, HDSCS provided communications support for a free drive-through flu shot clinic at Huntington Beach Hospital on Saturday, November 3, 2007. Our communicators were on location to relay information and keep the event running smoothly and safely. They were stationed at the hospital Command Post, the rooftop observation post, and as "rovers" in the outside areas. Everything went well as about 300 arms hung out of car windows waiting to be stuck. HDSCS participants were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Kim DeCelles K9KIM, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Reid Green KF6LOK and Dave West KI6EPI.
John Zdral, M.D. was guest speaker at the HDSCS membership meeting on November 12, 2007. Dr. Zdral, a Fullerton ophthalmologist, presented medical issues of the eye. Other topics at the meeting were a learning module on "tiger tails" and instructions for the "Golden Guardian" drill.
The HDSCS meeting of September 26, 2007 was at the new Kaiser Sand Canyon facility in Irvine. Our speaker was Rob Viera of Care Ambulance (at left), who talked about ambulance dispatch in Orange County as well as his company's response following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Plans for three upcoming drills were also discussed.
At the 2007 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, September 7 - 9, HDSCS members took the opportunity to tell other hams about the importance of close contact and support for local hospitals. April Moell WA6OPS presented a forum titled "It's the Network -- What it Takes to Maintain Amateur Radio Support for Hospitals." HDSCS also had a booth in the exhibit hall at the Mariott Hotel in Torrance from Friday evening until Sunday noon for one-on-one discussions with attendees. Helping April at the booth were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Joe Moell KØOV, Ken Simpson W6KOS and John Walker AC7GK.
Three members led an all-day CPR and first aid class for HDSCS communicators on June 16, 2007 at Placentia-Linda Hospital. "CPR for Healthcare Providers" was taught, including adult, child and infant CPR as well as choking. Our instructors included supplemental medical information to help communicators understand terminology that is likely to be used in messages into and out of emergency departments and intensive care units. Instructors were Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Jon Schaffer W6UFS.
Outreach
Regular contact with our served hospitals and other agencies insures that HDSCS will be remembered and called out quickly in all Orange County hospital emergency situations. Each year, HDSCS leaders participate in over 25 meetings with Disaster/Safety Committee members from hospitals in the Red, Blue/Green, and Yellow Nets for coordination and drill planning. HDSCS is also represented at regular meetings of the Orange County Emergency Medical Services' Disaster Advisory Group (4 per year) and the ReddiNet* Technical Advisory Group (2 per year). In addition to those meetings, HDSCS has been on the road, explaining our mission to medical care personnel, ham radio operators, and the public in southern California and elsewhere. Special presentations, conferences and exhibitions in recent months include:
