HDSCS News Notes

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 were also out in the area. 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.

Emergency Activation #100: Shortly after 8 PM on July 11, 2007, Assistant Coordinator Jim McLaughlin AB6UF received a cell phone call from the House Supervisor at Tustin Hospital Medical Center. Power had gone down, all phones were down, and the hospital's ReddiNet* terminal was not functional. It was believed that a nearby power transformer had failed. Jim immediately contacted April Moell WA6OPS and put his base station on the air to coordinate the responding operators. Jim alerted the county's ReddiNet Central Point of the hospital's problem and advised how the Central Point could contact HDSCS for message relay into the facility. Meanwhile, April and her husband Joe KØOV were contacting HDSCS members on the "First Wave" callup sheet. Within 26 minutes of the hospital's call, two HDSCS communicators were on site and connecting to the hospital's rooftop antenna (see photo at left of antenna installation four weeks earlier). They were Allen Bullock KD6LCL and Dave Mofford W7KTS. A third operator, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, was coming in the door at that moment, too. Fortunately, power was restored and phones were back on line within a few minutes. Three additional operators, already on the way, were called off. The three operators on site went into our standard 30 minute "holding pattern" to make certain that phones were remaining up. Although this was not a major activation, it served as an excellent "scramble drill." Our rapid response showed the benefits of the prior meetings and drills with this hospital and all the others in the county. Hospital staff members on duty knew that HDSCS exists and they knew how to contact us. Our plan for activating operators led to a rapid response, not only because we had identified the members living closest to that facility, but also because these members had their portable radio gear at the ready.

Emergency Activation #99: On March 21, 2007, the Telecommunications Supervisor at an Orange County trauma center alerted HDSCS by group page of a telephone failure. Our attempts to call into the hospital were met with rapid busy signals, confirming the problem. For the next hour, HDSCS Coordinators made calls to members to activate communicators to the facility. Within an hour, two HDSCS responders were on site and three more were about to enter the facility's driveway. At that point, the hospital Incident Commander declared the situation to be stable and released the communicators. Responders were Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, David Mofford W7KTS, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Corky Walker KG6YWY and John Walker AC7GK. Net Control was April Moell WA6OPS.

Emergency Activation #98: Telephones at Saddleback Hospital in San Clemente became unstable during the morning of March 20, 2007. Hospital staff used the HDSCS call-up list to contact Jim Riedel K6EEE via cell phone. Jim alerted April Moell WA6OPS and proceeded to the hospital with his go-kit. April served as Net Control and contacted the Orange County Communications Center to advise that if hospitals, fire departments or others were unable to contact the hospital, they could call April for radio message relay into the facility. The Safety Director at a sister Saddleback hospital in Laguna Hills decided that it would be good to have an operator at his facility to have a back-up for contacting San Clemente. John Walker AC7GK, with his equipment at the ready, was activated to Laguna Hills. Phones at San Clemente were repaired not long after our operators arrived, but the hams stayed on location and maintained contact until it was determined that the entire system was stable under load.

Emergency Activation #97: Although HDSCS has developed an excellent alerting system so that hospitals can quickly initiate calls for ham help, sometimes our activations take place because of "heads-up ball playing" by our members. Such was the case on February 13, 2007 at about 11:15 AM, when April Moell WA6OPS visited a store in Buena Park and was told that credit card transactions could not be processed because phone service was out. When she learned that phones were also down in adjacent stores, she decided to check on the closest hospital, which was Anaheim General's Buena Park campus (AGBP). Sure enough, the 31-bed facility was experiencing intermittent failures of incoming and outgoing calls. Paul Broden K6MHD was monitoring the main HDSCS two-meter repeater and immediately headed for AGBP. Jon Schaffer W6UFS was also listening and he hastened to Anaheim General's main campus in Anaheim to provide a direct radio link between the two facilities. Besides serving as a base station contact for Paul and Jon, it was April who made contact with OC-EMS, local authorities and the phone company to expedite the repair of phone problems. Operations were secured at 5 PM when it was determined that phone service was adequate for the low-traffic evening and night hours. Plans were made to resume ham communications for these two hospitals at 9 AM the following day during repairs (see Standbys #85-87 below).

Emergency Activation #96: At 8:20 AM on September 10, 2006, April Moell WA6OPS was alerted by the Orange County Communications Central Point that Chapman Medical Center was on internal diversion status due to a telephone failure. OC Communications had received this information by ReddiNet* and calls to the hospital were unanswered. April immediately began dispatching HDSCS members to that 114-bed facility in the city of Orange. Light Sunday morning traffic aided our quick response. First to arrive at 8:42 was Ken Simpson W6KOS, who found that all internal telephone extensions were inactive. Only one non-PBX line to the outside was working. He began Amateur Radio communications to the outside immediately. Additional operators soon arrived and were deployed to critical areas such the Emergency Department and the Medical/Surgical patient unit. Fortunately, the hospital's telephone technician arrived quickly and was able to diagnose and fix the switching system problem in relatively short order. Phones were fully back up at 10 AM and HDSCS operations secured following our usual 30 minute hold after that. In addition to Ken Simpson, here is an alphabetical list of the responding hams: Paul Broden K6MHD, Joe Moell KØOV, Jon Schaffer W6UFS and Clay Stearns KE6TZR. Three other members were on standby and ready to respond when the all-clear was given. April Moell WA6OPS was the outside base station contact.

Emergency Activation #95: During construction along Main Street in the city of Orange, fiber optic cables were accidentally severed on the afternoon of 17 August 2006. This caused failure of most of the trunk lines for Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). The break also affected external tie lines to several hospital units and clinics. April Moell was notified of the outage and the "internal disaster" declared by CHOC's Director of Safety and Security. April dispatched eleven HDSCS members to the hospital to cover critical areas such as the Command Post, switchboard (PBX), Neonatal Intensive Care (NICI), Pediatric Intensive Care (PICU) and medical/surgical units. Early reports indicated that it would take the phone company about six hours to repair the fiber optics, but Murphy's Law was in effect. In working on the cables, construction equipment broke into a water main, flooding the ditch and delaying fiber repairs for most of the night (photo above right). There were further delays when some telecom circuit cards failed during reinstallation the next morning. In rotating shifts of four to ten hours each, our HDSCS support continued, utilizing three Amateur Radio repeaters and two UHF simplex frequencies to handle logistics as well as internal and external medical communications. Examples included alerting San Bernardino County hospitals of the need to use Amateur Radio to contact CHOC for patient transfers, relaying the nurse's report on a patient being transferred, and contacting a physician for patient medication instructions. After 22-1/2 hours, all voice phones and most data/FAX lines were restored and our operators were released. These 20 hams responded to CHOC (in alphabetical order): Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Louie DeArman K6SM, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Reid Green KF6LOK, Jack Hafner KO6IC, Tom Hall N6DGK, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Joe Moell KØOV, David Mofford W7KTS, Heiko Peschel AD6OI, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Ray Rittenhouse KF6WZN, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Dave West KI6EPI and Woody Woodward KJ6LE. Providing base station and landline telephone support from home were April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Susan Hafner KD6YMH.

The Human Resources Department at Huntington Beach Hospital created this poster as a thank-you to David West, the HBH Disaster/Safety Coordinator (at left) for his work in organizing the special Avian Flu drill (see Drill #147 below). In front of the Eyewitness News truck in their blue HDSCS vests are Allen Bullock KD6LCL and David Mofford W7KTS, who were part of our response team to HBH that day.

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 Simson 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: Golden Guardian, a statewide homeland security and disaster preparedness exercise, 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. Orange County hospitals and agencies held a major Golden Guardian exercise on November 14, 2007, and HDSCS played an important part. A mock explosion took place at Angel Stadium just before 10 AM (photo at left by WB2LRH), with about 300 volunteer "victims" either at that site or pre-staged at the participating hospitals. 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 shoulder-to-shoulder 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. Supporting EMS personnel 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.

Drill #153: HDSCS was a major player in an Urban Area Strategic Initiative (UASI) drill on June 6, 2007. On that Wednesday morning, 27 HDSCS communicators took positions at command posts, base stations and in a special place called the "SimCell." We were simulating relief operators on the sixth day of a bioterrorism event. Although the 3-1/2 hour drill was part of a UASI grant to the cities of Santa Ana and Anaheim, 18 hospitals in nine cities of northern and central Orange County participated. This was realistic because Orange County Emergency Medical Services agency would coordinate these hospitals for transfer of patients and obtaining additional supplies in an actual emergency of this type. The outside consultant firm that scripted this drill obtained a special offsite location with staff to make phone calls into hospital command posts during the drill, simulating various departments and outside entities. The OC-EMS Departmental Operations Center (DOC) was also activated, communicating via telephone, 800 MHz county government radio, digital ReddiNet and Amateur Radio. HDSCS communicators were in the hospital command posts, at home base stations, and in the SimCell. Several new HDSCS members received valuable training in this drill. About half of our communicators took time off from work to participate in this important exercise. Assisting at the SimCell were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Jim Riedel K6EEE. At hospitals were Paul Broden K6MHD, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Louie DeArman K6SM, Kim Decelles K9KIM, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Ted Kramer NB6N, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Bob McCord K6IWA, David Mofford W7KTS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Mike Slygh KI6IRA, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Scott Stys KG6LJY, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK, Al Way KC6LNP and Dave West KI6EPI. Providing communications support at the EMS DOC was Ken Simpson W6KOS. April Moell WA6OPS was HDSCS Net Control, assisted by Ralph Swanson WB6JBI at his base station.

Standby #89: It was a record-length standby operation for HDSCS on April 20 and 21, 2007 as members stayed ready for backup communications during major work by Edison on the power distribution system at Childrens Hospital of Orange County. A wing of the facility where the telephone switching equipment is located was without commercial power for almost 27 hours. CHOC requested that HDSCS keep communicators on site Friday evening, overnight, and through Saturday until evening in case problems developed with the phone system while it was on emergency power. Sixteen HDSCS members participated in the operation, maintaining communicators on site linked with base stations through the outage. At the hospital were Paul Broden K6MHD, Bob Evans W9TQC, Mark Kern KE6QXF, Bruce Lent K6HRU, Scott Lolmaugh WK8ICK, Heiko Peschel AD6OI, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Alex Valdez KG6WKK, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI. Handling base station duties were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, Dave Mofford W7KTS and Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ.

Standby #88: HDSCS member Al Way KC6LNP was on standby at Saddleback Hospital in San Clemente hospital on the evening of April 19, 2007 during relocation of the trunk lines in the telephone switch. He was linked with base station Jim McLaughlin AB6UF during the work, ready to call for additional operators if something had gone wrong. Several additional members in central and southern Orange County were ready to respond if they had been needed.

Standbys #85, #86 and #87: HDSCS members provided backup communications during critical hours for three days as telephone problems were diagnosed and repaired following the area-wide outage of February 13, 2007 (see Activation #97 above). Some non-functional trunk lines were found at both the Anaheim and Buena Park campuses of Anaheim General Hospital. Our communicators were stationed at both facilities on February 14, 15 and 16 (20 hours total) to provide a direct link. They were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Louie DeArman K6SM, Reid Green KF6LOK, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, David Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Fred Wagner KQ6Q. Providing outside base station support were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, April Moell WA6OPS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI and Dave West KI6EPI.

Drill #152: HDSCS participated in a two-hospital drill in southern Orange County on the morning of January 18, 2007. The Saddleback Memorial Medical Centers in San Clemente and Laguna Hills enacted a security-related scenario. This was a good opportunity for us to explain how we would be utilized in an actual emergency of this nature, and to participate in the debriefing afterward. We also tested some alternate communication paths for the southern region of the county. Participants were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, David Mofford W7KTS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Corky Walker KG6YWY and John Walker AC7GK.

Standby #84: Beginning in the late evening of November 17, 2006, HDSCS communicators were set up at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton while maintenance was done to the hospital's phone system computer. All landline phones had to be taken down during this work. Staff members knew that it would be prudent to ask for HDSCS to be on location to provide rapid communication between critical units of the facility. Our being there gives them confidence to go about normal activities, not worrying about communications issues. They learn how hams can supplement their communications, and when they see HDSCS on site in the wee hours, they can believe that we will respond to unexpected communications failures, too. This time, the phone maintenance went smoothly and our presence was needed for only about three hours. Participants at the hospital were Paul Broden K6MHD, Jack Hafner KO6IC, Craig Johnson NØCCJ, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ, Alex Valdez KG6WKK and John Walker AC7GK. April Moell WA6OPS was the outside base station contact.

Drills #150 and #151: The annual California Statewide Medical and Health Disaster Exercise for 2006 took place on two days, November 15 and 16, making for two distinctly different mornings of activity for us. The California Emergency Medical Services Authority suggests scenarios, but hospitals are given great latitude in how they drill and when. Because most Orange County Hospitals have already participated in major mass casualty drills by this time of the year, many of them opt to do simple communications exercises, such as relaying bed status to Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency (OC-EMS). A few others do tabletop exercises. The rest utilize a mix of paper patients, teddy bear patients and volunteer victims to create drill experiences that test various aspects of individual disaster plans. Half of our supported hospitals used HDSCS in their exercises over the two days. HDSCS also supported the OC-EMS Department Operation Center (DOC). Two hospitals did tabletops with our hams "at the table" with them for education and advice. In addition, those hospitals initiated messages via ham radio to an out-of-area entity. Other hospitals had a mix of activity, testing various departments, simulating complete phone failures and pressuring nursing units to deal with large numbers of incoming patient transfers from outside the county. Some hospitals needed HDSCS members for unit-to-unit internal communications as well as for their link to the outside world. Numerous requests were initiated by the hospitals to obtain medicines and supplies. HDSCS relayed messages to suppliers such as Bergen Brunswig and Cardinal for pharmaceuticals and to Professional Hospital Supply for medical needs. Messages identifying the location of simulated victims were relayed to the Red Cross. With all that plus updates and status reports to OC-EMS, it made for a busy, but very realistic net. We had great "shoulder to shoulder" interaction with our hospitals as well as helping them to better understand how Amateur Radio can assist them in large and small disasters. Special thanks to Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, who operated from Orange County EMS and to Paul Broden K6MHD, who worked in tandem with April Moell WA6OPS to cover Net Control and relay messages. In the Temecula area, Dick Schmieter KM6MH performed radio relays to one of the suppliers. Other members communicating from hospitals were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Louie DeArman K6SM, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Tom Hall N6DGK, Ted Kramer NB6N, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Heiko Peschel AD6OI, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Alex Valdez KG6WKK, Bob Walker KD6VQA and Al Way KC6LNP.

Standby #83: A group of HDSCS members spent the evening of November 1, 2006 at Huntington Beach Hospital (HBH) while work was performed on a backup power supply for the telephone system. All phones had to be taken down for 70 minutes and during that time, communications were provided for critical units under the watchful eye of HBH Disaster Coordinator Dave West KI6EPI. Several messages were passed for units such as Radiology and the Emergency Department. At the hospital were Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Bill Hegard K6WIL and Marshall Shipley KG6SKD. The outside base station contact was April Moell WA6OPS.

Standby #82: Power failed briefly during an evening thunderstorm in Huntington Beach on October 12, 2006. Assistant Communicator Tom Gaccione WB2LRH checked on Huntington Beach Hospital (HBH) via telephone and received no answer, even after power was restored. Knowing that power glitches have adversely affected the HBH phone system in the past, HDSCS initiated a callout to the facility. First to arrive, in 13 minutes, was Marshall Shipley KG6SKD. Within 15 minutes of his arrival, WB2LRH and Clay Stearns KE6TZR were on scene. Phones came back up shortly after KG6SKD arrived, so the hams did not deploy within the facility. They remained at HBH for 30 minutes, to be sure that phones were stable.

Drill #149: The annual Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) city/county drill for Orange County was Saturday, October 7, 2006. The emphasis of this exercise is communications with the city and county RACES groups. It is important for them to realize that we are at hospitals in their cities and to understand the types of messages that may need to pass between hospitals and local government. It's also good practice for us to QSY to the other groups' frequencies and learn about their net procedures. HDSCS handled simulated traffic to and from 35 medical facilities, along with Emergency Medical Services Agency Operations Center (EMS-AOC) and the dispatch Central Point. We set up two separate nets, one for north and one for south Orange County. At least ten city RACES groups, plus county RACES and the Red Cross initiated messages and inquiries to the HDSCS nets. It took five repeaters to handle sixty incoming and outgoing messages within the two-hour time limit. April Moell WA6OPS was HDSCS Net Control. Other HDSCS participants were Paul Broden K6MHD, Reid Green KF6LOK, Bill Hegard K6WIL, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI, Joe Moell KØOV (at Orange County EOC), Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Woody Woodward KJ6LE and Fred Wagner KQ6Q.

Standby #81: HDSCS went on alert in the afternoon of September 12, 2006 when Hoag Hospital reported telephone system problems. Internal and outgoing calls were not affected, but some calls from the outside into the main switchboard were not completed or dropped out. HDSCS staged two members close to the hospital for rapid response in case the situation deteriorated, and stayed in touch with Hoag's communications staff and Disaster Coordinator for approximately two hours until the problem was repaired.

Drill #148: Saturday June 17, 2006 began with cool breezes and a marine layer that covered the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine. But by 9:30AM, a hot sun was shining on 65 casualties after a violent simulated earthquake. This was the start of the year's Yellow Net (south Orange County) hospital drill. Five hospitals participated in this test of infrastructure failures, walk-in victims and unannounced ambulance arrivals. The hospitals had agreed in advance to go without any landline phones, cell phones, or the ReddiNet* for hospital and EMS messaging. They could only use HEAR radios and HDSCS responders for their communications. HDSCS also simulated the loss of some voice repeaters, limiting our flexibility. We initiated a Core Team (automatic) response to the hospitals and to the county EOC immediately after the simulated shaking. Joe Moell KØOV took our portable repeater up into the Laguna hills to test its capability for providing communications among Yellow Net hospitals if the quake had taken out the fixed-site repeaters that HDSDCS normally uses. At the disaster site were Bruce Chappell KE6TSM and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH. Backing up communications at the county EOC dispatch Central Point were Galel Fajardo KB6MOH and David Mofford W7KTS. Responding to the hospitals were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Reid Green KF6LOK, Mark Kern KE6QXF , Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Bob Walker KD6VQA, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC7GK and Al Way KC6LNP. Dick Schmieter KM6MH in Riverside County assisted our net by finding available resources and hospital bed availability in his area. Net control and base station duties were handled by April Moell WA6OPS, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ, and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI.

Drill #147: On May 18, 2006, HDSCS communicators responded to Huntington Beach Hospital (HBH) after a bus full of high school students was diverted to that facility. It was all part of a pre-planned avian flu drill in which students from Westminster High School pretended to be band members who had just returned from tour in southeast Asia, became ill, and proceeded to the hospital. HBH set up its surge capacity tents outside to provide mass treatment and reduce risk to the rest of the hospital population. HDSCS members backed up communications in the hospital's Command Post, the Emergency Department and those outside tents. HBH simulated overload in its phone system, so some patient care messages were relayed into and out of the facility via Amateur Radio. One such message was to the Epidemiology section of Orange County Public Health Agency. An incoming message involved an ambulance company that wanted to come in to pick up a patient for transfer to another facility. Several TV stations were invited to witness and report on the drill. This also presented a realistic challenge to the HBH Public Information Officer. Video of two HDSCS communicators in the Command Post was included in one of the news stories on KCAL-TV Channel 9 that day. Participating in the drill were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, April Moell WA6OPS, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Fred Patzold WA6MOB, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Clay Stearns KE6TZR.

Drill #146: Twelve hospitals in the Blue/Green net grouping participated in a three-hour simulated earthquake drill on Thursday, May 11, 2006. HDSCS members responded to each of these hospitals, as well as the ReddiNet* Central Point at the Orange County Emergency Operations Center. This was specially timed to simulate an automatic Core Team response, as we would have done if the earthquake had really happened. Upon arrival at each hospital, HDSCS operators determined and reported the quake's effect on infrastructure, communications, and ability to treat victims. Where necessary, we contacted city/county agencies to obtain assistance for the hospitals. Some hospitals simulated moving their Command Posts or setting them up at alternate locations, which reinforced the value of HDSCS communicators being portable and flexible. Deployed to the hospitals were Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Jean Creason KC6PPY, Louie DeArman K6SM, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Ted Kramer NB6N, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Joe Moell KØOV, David Mofford W7KTS, Harvey Packard KM6BV (OC-RACES mutual aid), Dale Petes KI6ANS, Heiko Peschel AD6OI, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Corky Walker KG6YWY, John Walker AC6GK and Al Way KC6LNP. Responding to the Central Point were Allen Bullock KD6LCL and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH. Net Control and base stations were April Moell WA6OPS and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI.

Standby #80: HDSCS communicators returned to St. Joseph Medical Center on May 10, 2006 for the final cutover to the digital telephone switch that would bring a new building online. (See Standby #79 below.) This time the work was completed in only two and a half hours and phone disruption was much less extensive than two nights before. Nonetheless, HDSCS communicators kept busy handling communications, primarily between Intensive Care Unit and the Laboratory. In the hospital units and Command Post were Paul Broden K6MHD, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, John Gillette N6NVR, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Fred Wagner KQ6Q. Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ and April Moell WA6OPS shared outside base station duties.

Standby #79: Following an educational meeting at Tustin Hospital Medical Center on May 8, 2006, fifteen members of HDSCS headed off to St. Joseph Medical Center, which was undergoing a major communications upgrade requiring taking telephones offline that night. To supplement its own walkie-talkies and cell phones, the hospital requested support from HDSCS to make sure that its crucial areas would have adequate back-up communications. Work started at 10 PM Monday and concluded at 4:30 AM Tuesday morning. As analog phone racks were taken out and replaced with new digital racks in the first of a two-part cutover, phones went down periodically throughout the hospital. HDSCS communicators were kept busy handling messages from Intensive Care Unit to Pharmacy, relaying a Code Blue call from the Cardiac Care Unit, initiating "stat" calls for Respiratory Therapy, and getting a report to Surgery on a baby needing an emergency operation. Taking shifts at locations within the hospital were Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Louie DeArman K6SM, Jerry Drukin AC6FC, Bob Evans W9TQC, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Jim Riedel K6EEE, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Bob Walker KD6VQA, Corky Walker KG6YWY and John Walker AC7GK. Outside base station operators were Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ and April Moell WA6OPS.

Drill #145: HDSCS participated in a Tsunami drill on Thursday, May 4, 2006 from 8 AM to noon. Although it was primarily a tabletop exercise at the county level, HDSCS activated members to provide backup communications at the Central Point of the county EOC, at the main OC Emergency Medical Services Agency office and at the OC-EMS Alternate EOC site. In addition, Hoag Hospital tested its activation plan as well as its evacuation plan for portions of the lower campus. We demonstrated our ability to link the hospital to Red Cross, EMS, and county resources. At Hoag Hospital were Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, John Walker AC7GK and Corky Walker KG6YWY. At the OC-EOC at Loma Ridge were David Mofford W7KTS and Ken Simpson W6KOS. Jim McLaughlin AB6UF responded to the EMS office and Allen Bullock KD6LCL (at left above) went to the Alternate EMS EOC. April Moell WA6OPS coordinated the drill and was Net Control.

Standby #78: Huntington Beach Hospital performed servicing on its phone system on Saturday, April 15, 2006 as a follow-up to work done twelve days earlier. On-site communicators were Jon Schaffer W6UFS (Team Leader), Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Bob Walker KD6VQA. They arrived about 6:45 AM and work began at 7, as service personnel took all phones offline. Although the hospital was well prepared with some walkie-talkies and cell phones, Amateur Radio communications were still very important. This was especially true in the Intensive Care Unit, where several patient care messages were originated, including two to Pharmacy for medications. Dennis Kidder WA6NIA and Paul Broden K6MHD provided outside base station communications.

Field Day is an annual communications preparedness exercise of the American Radio Relay League in which HDSCS has participated for many years. 2008 was the seventh 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 year, Rick Soikkeli AE6RS taught a class on electronics and communications. That was followed by a ham radio licensing and upgrade session with six examinees, all of whom passed. 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).

HDSCS participated in the annual Long Beach area Scout-O-Rama at Heartwell Park on June 7, 2008. 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 sixth year that HDSCS has participated in this Scout event. On-site members who set up the Command Post and assisted with the Scouts were Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Dennis Kidder W6DQ, April Moell WA6OPS, David Mofford W7KTS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS and Ken Simpson W6KOS. Home base stations playing various roles during the traffic-handling included Paul Broden K6MHD, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI. Also participating in the Amateur Radio display at this event were members Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Joe Moell KØOV, Jay Thompson W6JAY and Richard Thompson WA6NOL. Click for a page of photos from this event.

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.

The annual HDSCS Orientation and Review Workshop took place at the Orange County Emergency Operations Center on Saturday, March 1, 2008. 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" for show and tell. Just being unveiled across the country is the new Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), which is an important topic for hospital responders. New members were given tours of the EOC and learned about the HEAR/ReddiNet* location. A major highlight of the day was the disaster potluck with everything from meatballs and chicken to stuffed grape leaves, seafood salad, fresh fruit, key lime pie, homemade cake 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, 2008 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), plus some very fancy cupcakes. Certificates and HDSCS coins were presented to the most active members of the previous year, the 2007 Disaster Dozen. They are (in alphabetical order): Paul Broden K6MHD, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Kim DeCelles K9KIM, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Joe Moell KØOV, Dave Mofford W7KTS, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI. Winner of the Outstanding New Member award for most participation by a new member in 2007 was Kim DeCelles K9KIM.

North Pole Network provided a great finish to 2007. A HDSCS team was activated to Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) on December 18 to link patients and staff to the North Pole station. This was a busy year with over 50 young patients visited. It took all afternoon to get to them all, especially because many required isolation procedures (photo at right). 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 32nd year of North Pole Network by KØOV and WA6OPS in Orange County and the 27th year of HDSCS's involvement in it. Click for an in-depth report and more photos.

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. Medical office buildings there are now opening, and the hospital will go into operation in 2008. 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.

HDSCS provided all communications for the Kaiser Permanente Medical teams at the 2007 Disney Half-Marathon on Labor Day 2007. An estimated 14,000 runners participated on one of the hottest days of the year. Members were at medical aid stations at the finish and thoughout the route. They also roamed the course on bicycles. Click for more about this important public service event.

Three members led an all-day CPR and first aid class for HDSCS communicators on June 16, 2007 at Placentia-Linda Hospital (photo at right). "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.

At the HDSCS meeting of May 30, 2007, members heard updates on the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), including Incident Response Guides and Incident Action Plans. Presenter was Mary Massey (at left), who is Surge Capacity Coordinator of the Healthcare Association of Southern California. Plans for an upcoming drill were also discussed.

The last HDSCS member meeting of 2006 took place at Kindred Hospital in Santa Ana on November 13, with two presentations. First, members heard Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Jon Schaffer W6UFS speak about procedures that are followed after a patient passes in a hospital. Then they learned from Joe Moell KØOV about the HDSCS portable repeater and our rules and procedures for crossband repeating to link from inside hospitals to the countywide net when an external antenna connection is unavailable. Plans for the upcoming statewide medical drill were also discussed.

The HDSCS membership meeting of October 4, 2006 at Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center featured a detailed presentation on avian influenza by Greg Boswell, Program Director of Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency. Potential effects on hospitals and the community were emphasized. Members from several city RACES groups attended as guests. After the presentation, plans for the upcoming city/county RACES/ARES drill were discussed.

April and Joe Moell (WA6OPS and KØOV) presented a mini-workshop at Huntington Beach Hospital on Saturday, August 19, 2006 for new members and those who have been unable to attend a full HDSCS Orientation/Review Workshop in March. Besides 14 HDSCS members in attendance, there were two hams from Long Beach and one from Olive View UCLA Medical Center who want to support hospitals in their areas of Los Angeles County.

Eddie Cox, Manager of Plant Operations and Disaster Coordinator at Irvine Medical Center, was the guest presenter at the HDSCS meeting of June 14, 2006. Eddie (shown at right) spent two weeks in the New Orleans area assisting Tenet Healthcare hospitals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He shared many of his experiences involving the hospitals' complete loss of communications, power, and other resources, as well as the lack of local plans and leadership that severely impacted the hospitals there. This was an outstanding learning experience that will help HDSCS and its members to better prepare for support of Orange County hospitals.

The HDSCS meeting of May 8, 2006 was held at Tustin Hospital Medical Center. HDSCS supported this facility during a 16-hour phone outage caused by severed trunk lines in October 2004. After a pizza supper provided by the hospital, members viewed two videos on earthquakes and then made plans for the upcoming Blue/Green Net multi-hospital earthquake drill. Plans for ARRL Field Day were also discussed.

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:

• A display table in the Disaster Preparedness and Equipment Fair on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at Irvine Regional Hospital, sponsored by Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency. Staffing the display were Paul Broden K6MHD, April Moell WA6OPS, Ken Simpson W6KOS and John Walker AC7GK.

• A display tent at the "May Day" Amateur Radio emergency communications fair on Saturday, May 31, 2008 outside the American Red Cross facility in Santa Ana, California. Eight members participated, demonstrating our approach to portable, flexible communications capability.

• A booth in the exhibitors area of Super CPR Day at Anaheim Stadium on April 12, 2008. At this event, over 2000 citizens received training in CPR techniques from the Red Cross. Staffing the booth were April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH.

• An in-service presentation on Amateur Radio emergency communications given by April Moell to staff members at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo on April 10, 2008. This facility includes one of Orange County's three trauma centers.

• Attendance by three HDSCS members, April Moell WA6OPS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Dave West KI6EPI, at a special lecture on bioterrorism at Irvine Medical Center on March 18, 2008. Sponsored by the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center and the Anti-Defamation League, this lecture was offered to acquaint hospital staff and Security with the latest information on understanding and preparing for biological incidents. Dr. Stephen Morse from the Division of Bioterrorism Preparedness of the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia was the guest lecturer.

• A lesson on the importance of establishing Amateur Radio networks to support agencies at the Orange County RACES Academy on November 17, 2007. Presenter was April Moell WA6OPS.

  

• Contact by April Moell with disaster and emergency management representatives of approximately 15 Orange County Hospitals during a workshop at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana on Monday, October 29, 2007. The workshop was presented by Mary Massey, Surge Capacity Coordinator for the Hospital Association of Southern California and covered new emergency management standards to be enforced by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations beginning in 2008.

• An in-service presentation by April Moell for the Disaster Preparedness Committee members at South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach on October 17, 2007 (photo at right). Assisting was John Walker AC7GK.

• Participation in the County of Orange Strategic National Stockpile Plan tabletop exercise at the Santa Ana Police Department on September 25, 2007. It was organized and facilitated by URS/EG&G Technical Services. HDSCS was invited to review and give input to this plan both in the exercise and the "hot wash" following. Representing HDSCS were April Moell WA6OPS and Matt Stofle W7MWS. Other participants included staff from the Orange County Health Care Agency, Santa Ana Police department, Orange County Communications, Orange County Transit Authourity, Orange County Emergency Management, Terrorism Early Warning Group, hospitals, and an emergency analyst from the California Department of Public Health.

• An in-service presentation to the Disaster Committee members at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana on September 19, 2007, given by April Moell.

• An information booth and forum at the ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, September 7 - 9, 2007 in Torrance (see report in "Meetings and other activities" above).

  

• Fully staffing the Amateur Radio booth at the Orange County Fair for two days, July 15 and 22, 2007. About a dozen members participated over these days. In the photo at right, Joe Moell KØOV helps young fair visitors learn about Morse Code.

• A three-hour workshop on Amateur Radio hospital support by April and Joe Moell (WA6OPS and KØOV) for the Los Angeles Section Amateur Radio Emergency Service meeting at Valley Presbyterian Hospital on July 7, 2007.

• A display for the public at the annual Orange County Emergency Medical Services' "Tailgate Party" under the "Big A" at Anaheim Stadium prior to the Angels game on June 2, 2007. This was the fourth year that HDSCS has displayed at this event. Participating were Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Clay Stearns KE6TZR.

• Attendance by April Moell at the 40th anniversary celebration of Huntington Beach Hospital (HBH) on May 22, 2007. This was an opportunity to discuss Amateur Radio support for OC hospitals with HBH administrators and with the Regional CEO of Prime Healthcare Services, which owns HBH and two other hospitals that HDSCS supports.

• An education module on Amateur Radio and HDSCS presented by April Moell to the Blue/Green Hospital Network Disaster Planning committee meeting of May 14, 2007. In attendance were Disaster/Safety Coordinators of the 14 Blue/Green hospitals, along with representatives from OC Emergency Medical Service Agency and OC Red Cross.

  

• Attendance by April and Joe Moell at EmcommWest, May 4 - 6, 2007 (photo at right). This is a annual ARRL convention at the Atlantis Resort and Hotel in Reno, Nevada especially for ham operators who are involved in emergency communications. In addition to staffing an exhibit hall booth for the duration of the event, April gave a forum presentation about the importance of Amateur Radio support to hospitals and the right ways to do it.

• A presentation about HDSCS by April Moell to the monthly meeting of Orange County Amateur Radio Club on April 20, 2007.

• A presentation by April Moell to a meeting of the Golden West chapter of Military Officers Association of America on April 13, 2007. Topics included Amateur Radio, its support to Orange County Hospitals and to the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS).

• An in-service presentation on how HDSCS supports Orange County hospitals, given to the Admitting, PBX and disaster preparedness staff members at Saddleback Hospital of San Clemente on February 22, 2007. The presentation was made by April Moell WA6OPS with assistance from Jim Riedel K6EEE, John Walker AC7GK and Corky Walker KG6YWY.

• A presentation on "Case Studies in Amateur Radio Support for Hospitals" by April Moell to a Disaster Resource Group meeting in Long Beach on December 4, 2006. Present were representatives of four hospitals in Long Beach and Lakewood, as well as Boeing, the Veteran's Administration, and Los Angeles County Amateur Radio Emergency Service.

• An in-service for the Communications Department staff at UCI Medical Center in Orange on November 13, 2006, presented by April Moell. Emphasis was on the role of Amateur Radio operators in backup communications and the activation procedures for quick response by HDSCS to that facility.

  

• An in-service presentation and drill planning session by April Moell with disaster preparedness staff members at La Palma Intercommunity Hospital on November 7, 2006.

• A two-hour conference call by April Moell with the Communications Manager and the Radiology Services Administrator at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas on October 12, 2006. Topics were Amateur Radio emergency communications and the North Pole Network.

• A one-hour presentation by April Moell on Amateur Radio and its support to hospitals for staff members of Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa on October 5, 2006.

• A half-day workshop by April and Joe Moell for RACES/ARES members in the city of Corona on September 30, 2006 to help that group develop hospital support in Riverside county (photo above right).

• An information booth and presentation by April Moell at the ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, September 22 - 24, 2006 in San Diego.

• Participation in a 5-hour Disaster Expo for employees at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach on September 13, 2006. Several hundred staff members learned about HDSCS's inclusion in the hospital's disaster plan. They received handouts about Amateur Radio and its support in emergencies. Staffing the booth were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, April Moell WA6OPS, David Mofford W7KTS, Jon Schaffer W6UFS and Ken Simpson W6KOS.

  

• Erecting and staffing a booth in the Amateur Radio Expo of the Los Angeles County Fair all day on Saturday, September 9, 2006. Our primary aim was to aid hams from Long Beach and Santa Clarita, who are setting up Amateur Radio communications support for hospitals in their areas of Los Angeles County. It also gave us an opportunity to tell visiting ham operators about the importance of Amateur Radio support to health facilities.

• A meeting between April Moell WA6OPS and Wolfgang Knabe, the new Fire Chief of the City of Fullerton on September 7, 2006. It was an opportunity to explain how HDSCS group functions and its relationship with city RACES, county RACES, and other agencies using Amateur Radio, such as Red Cross. Discussions included several emergency scenarios and how Amateur Radio mutual aid would take place.

• Participation in a "tabletop" avian flu drill at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton on August 25, 2006. Four HDSCS members (April Moell WA6OPS, Paul Broden K6MHD, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM and Dale Petes KI6ANS) explained the value of Amateur Radio communications to department heads, security officials, nursing supervisors and many other staff members. The hospital folks wanted to know details such as how hams would contact outside laboratories for specialized blood tests and how we would get messages to outside clinics and doctors who would be performing blood draws in a flu emergency that overtaxes the hospital's resources.

• A talk by April Moell to the Fullerton Rotary Club about Amateur Radio and Emergency Communications on June 14, 2006.

* 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 4 July 2008