Emergency Activation #114: A power surge, probably from lightning, caused failure of computer hardware in the telephone and data switch at Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) on March 21, 2011. All internal phones on the units went down, as well as lines to the outside. At 5:33 AM, April and Joe Moell, WA6OPS and KØOV received a call from a switchboard operator who was using an emergency tie-line. April and Joe immediately established an on-air net and began a "first wave" callout of members who live close to that facility to respond with their go-kits and to establish communications for the hospital. April called the Supervisor at Orange County Communications agency to notify that CHOC could not receive incoming calls and offered her number for incoming call relay. This resulted in several calls, including one regarding transport of a young patient coming in for an urgent appendectomy. As they arrived at CHOC, HDSCS members set up internal communications from the most important units including the Emergency Department, Neonatal Intensive Care, Pediatric Intensive Care, and Pharmacy. Our Command Center and internal Net Control was near the telephone switchboard in the basement. Message handling continued through the morning, with some of the first-to-arrive operators being replaced by other HDSCS members when they had to leave for work or other commitments. By 10:45 AM, some of the phones were working but additional repair components were being awaited from a supplier. HDSCS continued to provide unit-to-unit and hospital-to-community messaging as needed, including coordination of patient treatments and a request for blood. At 1:02 PM, the repair crew announced that the phone system was back to normal except for some voicemail functions. HDSCS members remained on station for 30 more minutes as they always do to insure that phone systems are stable. Then they secured the operation. Ken Simpson W6KOS and Clay Stearns KE6TZR were the first operators to arrive at CHOC and to establish outside communications. Later arrivals for internal communications and relief were (in alphabetical order) Paul Broden K6MHD (pictured at right), Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Sam Stratton W5AGX and Fred Wagner KQ6Q.
* 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.
Next page is the Supporting Hospitals with Amateur Radio, Your First Steps -- The right way for your ham radio group to get started in supporting your local hospitals
Back to the HDSCS home page
This page updated 2 February 2012
Emergency Activation #113: Shortly after 9 AM on October 1, 2010, an intense thunderstorm cell passed northward over the city of Fullerton. Lightning set fire to palm trees and knocked out power over most of the city. When power failed the first time, April Moell WA6OPS checked on the status of St. Jude hospital. Generators were operating but the telephone system was very busy with many internal calls. When city power came back and then failed again a few minutes later, St. Jude activated HDSCS by group paging. Paul Broden K6MHD arrived quickly at the hospital and was stationed at the Command Center that was being set up. Next to arrive was Bill Preston KZ3G, who provided communications from the PBX area. Telephones were overloading and no incoming calls were being accepted. A third operator, Ken Simpson W6KOS, provided communications from the St. Jude Medical Plaza across the street from the hospital, where surgeries and other procedures were being performed that day. Although the hospital staff told us that no more operators were needed at that time, we placed other members on standby, ready to respond rapidly. They included Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU and Dale Petes KI6ANS. Our communications support continued at the hospital until shortly after 11:30, when power was fully restored and telephones were stable. Dennis Kidder W6DQ, April Moell WA6OPS and Joe Moell KØOV made callouts and served as base station support for this HDSCS emergency net.
Emergency Activation #112: A power failure in the City of Orange took down the telephone system at Chapman Medical Center at about 9:20 PM on June 23, 2010. When the lights went out in their own home, HDSCS members Ken and Cheryl Simpson (W6KOS and KD6MWZ) followed our established procedures by checking on the status of nearby hospitals. When they could not make telephone contact with Chapman Medical Center, Ken immediately set out for that hospital with his "go kit" and Cheryl contacted April and Joe Moell (WA6OPS and KØOV), who started calling out more HDSCS members to respond. When Ken and Richard Deen KI6HWY reached the hospital at about 9:45 PM, all internal and external phone lines were non-functional, so they established communications with Cheryl and April via Amateur Radio. April and Joe continued to call HDSCS operators to go to the hospital to provide communications between units therein. As technicians worked to reset the phone system, HDSCS members provided links for the hospital's Dmergency Department, Medical/surgical Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Subacute Care Unit, Geriatrics Unit and the Laboratory. All phones became functional again for internal and external calls at 11:30 PM and our operations secured at midnight when it was determined that the phone system was stable. Other HDSCS members serving in the hospital units were Paul Broden K6MHD, Tom Hall N6DGK, Justin Miller KI6AFZ and Bill Preston KZ3G.Emergency Activations #110 and #111: At about 2 AM on October 5, 2009, the telephone switch at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana went down because one of its storage battery modules failed. The hospital was left with just a few direct lines and its "power-based phones" (some internal extensions that connect directly to external trunk lines when the switch is inoperative). HDSCS Assistant Coordinator Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ received a page about the internal emergency that was being declared and she immediately activated HDSCS in accordance with our standard procedures. The first HDSCS operator arrived at the hospital approximately 35 minutes after the page and immediately established communications with the outside from the Hospital Command Center. Additional HDSCS operators arrived soon thereafter and were stationed in Emergency, Surgery and Radiology departments. These are key units because WestMed Santa Ana is one of the three trauma centers for Orange County, where emergency surgery is performed frequently. Several important medical messages were passed by our ham operators including a "stat" request to Radiology for a portable X-ray unit and technician. As daybreak brought greater activity to the hospital, plans were made to add operators in additional units as needed. Temporary repairs to the telephone switch were completed about 10 AM and our operation secured one half hour after that. Taking shifts in the Hospital Command Center were Allen Bullock KD6LCL and Bill Hegardt K6WIL. Operators in other units were Ken Simpson W6KOS, Dave West KI6EPI and Larry Zysman N6BNM. Outside base operators were April Moell WA6OPS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ. The hospital immediately made plans for permanent repairs, but before they could be implemented, another failure took place at about 5:30 PM on October 6. Again, HDSCS received an alert page and promptly responded. We assisted with communications as needed until the system was operational again at 8 PM. Responders to the hospital were Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Pete Martinez K2PTM and John Walker AC7GK. Base station operators were as before.
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.
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 left: 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 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.
Alerts, Drills and Standby Operations
Standby #105: Ten HDSCS communicators responded to Childrens Hospital of Orange County at 10 PM on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 for our first pre-arranged standby operation of the year. Technicians had to completely shut down the phone system there that night to make upgrades related to the construction of a new patient care tower. During that time, our operators were there to provide communications for patient care units on all floors of the facility plus the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department, and Pharmacy. One operator was a "shadow" to the House Supervisor. From a communications standpoint, the busiest area of all was the Pharmacy, which was providing medications on call to all patient care units. In addition to the on-site operators, two members were at their home base stations to handle messages into and out of the facility. The telephone downtime lasted for three hours, then the hams remained for an additional half hour before departing, to insure that the phones were stable. Team Leader and Net Control within the hospital was Ken Simpson W6KOS. Other operators within the facility were Reid Green KF6LOK, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Mike Turner W4OPS, Alex Valdez K9BLK, John Walker AC7GK and Woody Woodward W6PA. Outside base station operators were Paul Broden K6MHD and April Moell WA6OPS. Ten additional members were standing by in case the operation had continued and relief operators were needed.
Standby #104: HDSCS members were in place in eight key areas of Childrens Hospital of Orange County at 4 AM on December 3, 2011 as the hospital shut down its telephone system for upgrades. Hospital staff members had prepared well, so our message traffic was light. HDSCS operators handled an urgent pharmacy request involving a scheduled dosage of medications for a patient. They also reported intermittent phone problems as the system was brought on line and kept the house supervisor updated on the status of the system. In addition to being a valuable service to the hospital, this was excellent training for some new HDSCS members. Team Leader and Net Control within the hospital was Tom Gaccione WB2LRH. Other operators within the facility were Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Bob Evans W9TQC, Reid Green KF6LOK, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Bill Preston KZ3G, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Clay Stearns KE6TZR and Dave West KI6EPI. Outside base station operator was April Moell WA6OPS. Ten additional members were standing by in case the operation had continued and relief operators were needed.
Drill #176: The annual statewide medical disaster drill took place on Thursday, November 17, 2011. The scenario was contamination of water supplies resulting in a "do not use" order for city water. Thirteen Orange County hospitals requested HDSCS participation. HDSCS members deployed to them after those facilities used their telephone and paging procedures to activate us. One operator was also sent to provide communications from the emergency operations center of Orange County Health Care Agency. The HDSCS main net and some additional frequencies were kept busy with supply-related messages (resource requests) as the hospitals practiced how they would perform their housekeeping, sterilization, dialysis, dietary and other critical functions if the order not to use city water had been real. Several 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 Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Reid Green KF6LOK, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Roman Kamienski KG6QXF, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Mike Turner W4OPS, Alex Valdez K9BLK and Fred Wagner KQ6Q. Primary Net Control and Drill Facilitator was April Moell WA6OPS (at left). Serving as alternate Net Control and outside base stations were Kim DeCelles K9KIM and Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP.
Drill #175: The second Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) drill for Orange County in 2011 took place on October 1. In this "armchair" drill, our members do not physically go to the hospitals, but instead they simulate being at the hospitals in the various cities. The emphasis of this exercise is communications with the city and county RACES groups. It is important for them to realize that we automatically go to hospitals in their cities during disasters. They need to understand the types of tactical messages that may need to pass between hospitals and local government. It's good practice for the various groups to move to each others' frequencies and to learn about their net procedures. This time, the scenario was multiple gas pipeline explosions and HDSCS simulated operations at 27 medical facilities. Nineteen city RACES groups, plus the county RACES and the Red Cross exchanged messages and inquiries on the HDSCS nets. April Moell WA6OPS was HDSCS Net Control. Other HDSCS participants were Paul Broden K6MHD, Louie DeArman K6SM, Galel Fajardo KB6MOH, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH (at Orange County EOC), Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Joe Moell KØOV, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and Woody Woodward W6PA.
A power failure in the neighborhood put Coastal Communities Hospital on generator power at about 5 PM on Friday, July 1, 2011. With no information about the cause of the failure and how long it might last, concerned hospital officials called HDSCS for backup communications in case the power failure were to affect telephone communications. Following established procedures, they reached Ken Simpson W6KOS, an Assistant Coordinator, who set our call-up system in motion. April and Joe Moell, WA6OPS and KØOV, made calls to activate additional members as W6KOS headed for the hospital with his go-kit through the Friday evening traffic. Ken and two other HDSCS communicators, Dave Popko AF6TN and Justin Miller KI6AFZ, arrived at the hospital within seconds of each other and set up for possible communications duty. Edison power was returning about the time they arrived, but they remained on station for another hour to make sure that everything was stable. Two other members, Tom Hall N6DGK and Bill Hegardt K6WIL, were close by and on standby ready to respond if they had been needed.
Drill #174: HDSCS was heavily involved in the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) drill for Orange County that took place on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The scenario was heavy rains that caused flooding, road closures, mudslides, and possible evacuation of hospitals. 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 EMS dispatch Central Point. In addition, we exchanged messages with Orange County Red Cross. Over 30 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. Our net was busy non-stop! Other messages were passed via various city/county RACES repeaters and simplex frequencies. HDSCS Net Control operator was April Moell WA6OPS. Joe Moell KØOV operated on our net from a position at the Orange County EOC at Loma Ridge. Other participating HDSCS members were Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Bruce Lent K6HRU, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Chris Sanders KE6BRY, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI, Richard Thompson WA6NOL, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and Dave West KI6EPI.
Drill #173: The annual Golden Guardian 2011 Full Scale Exercise in Orange County involved the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). The drill scenario was severe flooding in northern California that necessitated the evacuation of hospitals there. Transport of those patients by military airlift and ambulance to hospitals here was simulated, with over 300 volunteer "victims" arriving at Orange County medical facilities on the morning of Wednesday, May 18. Under NDMS procedures, participating Orange County hospitals received notice of the impending arrivals on Tuesday, so they were able to plan ahead for resources, including Amateur Radio communicators, in advance. HDSCS call-up responders began receiving requests for communicators that day. At 8 AM on Wednesday morning, HDSCS members went to 17 requesting hospitals, set up their equipment and networked to handle many messages including resource requests to the county's Emergency Medical Services Agency (OC-EMS) and resolution of victims transport issues. OC-EMS introduced several surprises into the drill to test response of the hospitals, including a simulated half-hour area-wide telephone outage and numerous misdirected victims. HDSCS members operating from hospitals were Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Bob Duer N6YKX, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Robert Moore KW6B, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Dave Popko AF6TN, Bill Preston KZ3G, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and Woody Woodward W6PA. Communicating from OC-EMS Department Operations Center was Joe Moell KØOV. Net Controls were April Moell WA6OPS and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI.
Standby #103: HDSCS members John and Corky Walker (AC7GK and KG6YWY) were on hand at 5 AM on Thursday, April 21, 2011 as Saddleback Hospital in San Clemente performed a cutover of upgrades to its telephone system. Using their own radio gear and the hospital's outside VHF/UHF antenna, they were in contact with base stations operated by April Moell WA6OPS and Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, ready in case the phone system failed and messages had to be relayed into and out of the hospital. The cutover went smoothly and the system was declared operational and stable just before 7 AM.
Drill #172: The annual California statewide medical disaster exercise took place on Thursday, November 18, 2010. It was the biggest drill of the year for HDSCS with 37 members participating. We communicated from 20 hospitals, plus the Department Operations Center of Orange County Emergency Medical Services agency (OC-EMS) and the headquarters of Care Ambulance Company. The drill scenario involved multiple explosive devices around the county. The HDSCS emphasis was a realistic response using our established Call-Up procedures. Our members received their assignments just a few hours before the event. Instead of going into the hospitals and setting up prior to the drill start, these they pre-staged nearby and went inside only when activated by Net Control, after Net Control received activation from the individual hospitals, usually by pager. This was an important test of the hospitals' alerting procedures. It also taught our members what it is like to enter, get to Command Centers and get on the air with their portable equipment under stressful conditions. In the individual Hospital Command Centers, our members were shoulder-to-shoulder with the Incident Commander, the Logistics Officer, and other staff members in Hospital Incident Command System positions (photo at right above). The county's emphasis in communications for 2010 was resource requests, such as calls for supplies, pharmaceuticals and patient transportation. Every participating hospital initiated at least one resource request that was transmitted via HDSCS. In the majority of cases, it went to OC-EMS, but some requests went to sister hospitals or to other hospitals close by. Some of the hospitals simulated damage that required movements of patients and staff. Responding to the hospitals were Monique Beringer KI6RVT, Patricia Beringer KI6RVU, Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Bob Duer N6YKX, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Dennis Kidder W6DQ, Bruce Lent K6HRU, Doug Lindow KJ6ILK, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Bob McCord K6IWA, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Tom Smith KB6A, Matt Stofle W7MWS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Corky Walker KG6YWY, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, John Walker AC7GK, Al Way KC6LNP, Dave West KI6EPI, Woody Woodward W6PA and Larry Woolf KF6YCM. Net Controls and outside base station operators were April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI. Jim McLaughlin AB6UF operated from OC-EMS and Paul Broden K6MHD was in the Command Center at Care Ambulance headquarters. Only two of the HDSCS participants are hospital employees. The rest are hams of many occupations who have attended our specialized training sessions and took time off to support this valuable mission by being dedicated medical communicators.
Drills #170 and #171: To provide additional opportunities for on-the-air training, the number of city/county RACES communications drills per year has been increased from one to two. The first such drill for 2010 took place on the evening of May 19 with HDSCS members on the air exchanging simulated emergency messages with ten RACES groups in Orange County as well as the county's American Red Cross operations center. HDSCS participants were Ken Allen K7IXO, Paul Broden K6MHD, Louie DeArman K6SM, Dave Elder KA6TBF, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Bob McCord K6IWA, Robert Moore KW6B, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Ray Rittenhouse KF6WZN, Dre Sepulveda KI6YDM, Rick Soikkeli AE6RS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Matthew Stofle W7MWS, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and Dave West KI6EPI. Net Control for the HDSCS net during this drill was Tom Gaccione WB2LRH. The second RACES drill for 2010 took place on October 2. This time, the scenario was multiple wildfiles and HDSCS simulated operations at 24 medical facilities. Thirteen city RACES groups, plus the county RACES and the Red Cross initiated messages and inquiries to the HDSCS nets. April Moell WA6OPS was HDSCS Net Control. Other HDSCS participants were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH (at Orange County EOC), Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Joe Moell KØOV, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Fred Wagner KQ6Q.
Drill #169: California's "Golden Guardian" statewide homeland security and disaster preparedness exercise for 2010 was staged on May 18 and 19. Hospitals in Orange County drilled on May 18 only, with 17 of them utilizing HDSCS Amateur Radio operators in their facilities in response to a simulated terrorism scenario. Even though many hospitals went into security lockdown mode, they called or paged HDSCS according to established procedures and accepted our operators into their facilities. Taking their portable equipment into hospitals for this drill were Paul Broden K6MHD, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Louis DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Tom Hall N6DGK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Becky Katzen KI6OEM, Fred Lochner WA6FRA, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Bob McCord K6IWA, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Robert Moore KW6B, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI. Operating from Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency (OC-EMSA) was Ken Simpson W6KOS. Home base station and net control operators were Dennis Kidder W6DQ, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI. Of these operators, only one was stationed at a hospital where he is employed. In accordance with new FCC policies, a written waiver of FCC 97.113 was obtained in advance by OC-EMSA to allow this person to operate on Amateur Radio frequencies from that hospital in this exercise.
HDSCS made a rapid and comprehensive response following the Richter 7.3 earthquake that shook southern California and northern BC Mexico on Sunday afternoon, April 4, 2010. HDSCS members were checking in on our primary repeater before the chandeliers stopped swinging. Joe and April Moell, KØOV and WA6OPS 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 southern OC area. Within an hour, it was determined that all facilities were functional with no power or communications problems. Thirty HDSCS members participated.Meetings and Other Activities
North Pole Network provided a great finish to 2011. A HDSCS team was activated to Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) on December 16 to link patients and staff to the North Pole station. This was a busy year with about 50 young patients visited. It took about seven hours 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 34th year of North Pole Network by KØOV and WA6OPS in Orange County and the 29th year of HDSCS's involvement in it. Click for an in-depth report and more photos.
The HDSCS membership meeting of November 14, 2011 was devoted to preparation and training for the annual statewide medical disaster exercise (see drill #176 above). Included were presentations by Dr. Sam Stratton W5AGX on the effect of caustic contamination of water supplies and by April Moell WA6OPS on Incident Action Plans in the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS).
On October 29, 2011, about thirty HDSCS members and guests from other ARDS/RACES groups attended "Traffic School" training from Kate Hutton K6HTN, our Special Advisor and the ARRL Section Traffic Manager for Los Angeles. Attendees learned how to write, send and receive messages in ARRL format and got an understanding about how these messages are relayed cross-country via the ARRL National Traffic System by voice, CW and digital modes.
At a five-hour mini-workshop on Saturday, October 22, 2011, a group of the newest HDSCS members got "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 transceiver programming were well covered. This session was especially for members who had not been able to attend the annual all-day training workshop in March. April Moell WA6OPS was the primary presenter, assisted by Joe Moell KØOV and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH.
HDSCS provided volunteer communications for the St. Joseph Hospital Medical teams at the 2011 Disneyland Half-Marathon on September 4. An estimated 15,000 runners took to the course that went through Disneyland and out into Anaheim, including a path past home plate in Anaheim Stadium. Twenty-six HDSCS members were up well before dawn to get into place at medical aid stations at the finish and thoughout the route (photo at left). They also roamed the course on bicycles with the medical teams and provided communications at critical water stations. This was the fifth year of HDSCS participation. Click for more about this important public service event.
The annual HDSCS Termite Contest took place during the entire month of August 2011. Members were encouraged to "come out of the woodwork" and talk to their fellow members on the repeaters used by HDSCS. Points for on-air activity were awarded and there were occasional quizzes for extra points, with questions on medical communications topics and "termite trivia." The ten highest point scorers received prizes during a "termite party" and barbecue on September 24.
Jon Schaffer W6UFS a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class for HDSCS communicators on Saturday, August 6, 2011 at Care Ambulance Headquarters in Orange. "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.
Field Day is an annual communications preparedness exercise of the American Radio Relay League in which HDSCS has participated for many years. 2011 was the tenth year that our Field Day has taken place at Huntington Beach Hospital (HBH), 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 HBH employees and staff were encouraged to visit our operation. Over thirty Scouts from several troops in the area arrived for a radio merit badge class in the HBH basement, taught by HDSCS member Rick Soikkeli AE6RS. Saturday afternoon's VIP visitors included Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (CA 46th district, pictured at right). In addition to visiting our operators and learning how hams can help hospitals when normal communications fail, the Congressman spent time with the Scouts as they made contacts for merit badge credit. In the late afternoon was a ham radio licensing and upgrade session. The new hams could get on the air almost immediately. Besides the voice operations, several members operated CW mode (Morse Code) and there were contacts through orbiting Amateur Radio satellites. Many thanks to Field Day leaders Tom Smith KB6A, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH and Ken Simpson W6KOS for putting together the event and preparing the results package to submit to ARRL. Also thanks to Woody Woodward for the use of his callsign, W6PA. Click here for a page of photos from Field Day 2011.
At the HDSCS membership meeting of June 20, 2011, members got a close look at the latest treatments for severe burns in a presentation by Meredith Rattay, the Program Director for the Grossman Burn Center at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana (pictured at left). Plans for Field Day and other activities were discussed.
HDSCS held a membership meeting on May 1, 2011 to plan for the upcoming Golden Guardian drill (See Drill #173 above). This included a thorough review of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) procedures for bringing patients into southern California and placing them into Orange County hospitals.
Over twenty HDSCS members provided public safety communications all day on April 9, 2011 for Cane Quest, a pioneering mobility contest sponsored by the Braille Institute of Orange County. Over thirty visually-impaired junior and senior high school youth took to the streets of Anaheim and Buena Park to demonstrate their safe cane travel techniques and skills in hopes of winning prizes. Routes included a residential area, a light business area and a mall with bus travel. All routes were active at the same time with HDSCS members helping to insure safety by being on the buses, standing in key positions on the courses and riding the courses on bicycles. As one Braille Institute official put it, "HDSCS was the foundation of our safety and the glue that kept us together throughout the event." Click for a page of photos and information about HDSCS at Cane Quest.
The annual HDSCS Orientation and Review Workshop took place at the Schilling Training Center of Care Ambulance Service on Saturday, March 26, 2011. 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. A learning module on the Orange County Emergency Medical System (OC-EMS) was presented by Dr. Sam Stratton W5AGX, the Medical Director of that agency. We were visited by Barbara Prince, the Disaster Coordinator at Childrens Hospital, who thanked HDSCS for providing medical communications during a telephone outage at that facility five days prior. As always, a highlight was the noontime "disaster potluck" with everything from enchiladas, lasagnia, spaghetti and meatballs to fruit plates, salads, homemade cakes and cookies. Click for photos and more informaton about our annual workshop.
HDSCS held its traditional annual Year-End/Year-Beginning meeting, complete with the "Final Exam" on January 26, 2011 at Fountain Valley Regiona Medical Center. 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, prizes and HDSCS coins were presented to the most active members of the previous year, the 2010 Disaster Dozen. They are (in alphabetical order): Paul Broden K6MHD, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Dennis Kidder W6DQ, Andrea Martinez K2ALM, Pete Martiniz K2PTM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Joe Moell KØOV, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Tom Smith KB6A, and Dave West KI6EPI (photo at right). Winner of the Outstanding New Member award for exceptional participation by a person who joined during 2010 was Robert Moore KW6B.
HDSCS held its second "radio coaching" session on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at La Palma Hospital. Tom Gaccione WB2LRH explained the basics of VHF/UHF repeaters, subaudible tones, and hand-held radio programming. Then the attendees were assigned to individual radio coaches who helped them master the technique of quickly finding frequencies and programming memories (photo at left). This is important because during drills and activations, HDSCS members often have to quickly calls to get resources from the Red Cross, local RACES groups, and so forth.
At the HDSCS meeting of November 8, 2010 at Care Ambulance headquarters, members received instruction on handling hospital resource requests in a presentation by Mike Steinkraus N6PTN, Medical Disaster Management Coordinator of Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency. That was followed by a talk from Mike Wigginton of the Orange County Sheriff Department's Bomb Squad, with emphasis on how hospitals handle explosive threats and deal with suspicious objects. Plans for future medical facility communications drills were also discussed.
HDSCS provided medical communications for the Orange County Marathon on Sunday, May 2, 2010. Before dawn, our communicators took up positions in the main medical tent at the finish line at Orange County Fairgrounds and in five medical aid stations along the marathon course. We worked closely with Rob Viera and other staff members of Care Ambulance, the provider of transport for sick and injured runners. Our Team Leader and Net Control was Assistant Coordinator Jim McLaughlin AB6UF (pictured at right). Other participating members were Ken Allen K7IXO, Bruce Chappell KE6TSM, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Christine Sanders KE6BRY, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Tom Smith KB6A, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Dave West KI6EPI and Woody Woodward W6PA.
Our annual North Pole Network event could not take place at Childrens Hospital in December 2009 because of the H1N1 flu. For infection control, hospitals throughout the county had instituted strict policies regarding visitation. No outside visitors were being allowed into the patient rooms, and the group playrooms were closed as well.
Members attending the HDSCS meeting of September 29, 2009 were treated to a comprehensive presentation on H1N1 and seasonal flu by Michelle Cheung, MD, MPH (at left). She is Deputy Director of Epidemiology for the Orange County Health Care Agency. Her agency publishes regular updates on status of the flu epidemic in our county. Also at the meeting, April Moell WA6OPS gave a presentation on messaging and nets in preparation for an upcoming county-wide communications drill.
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 the 2008 Scout-O-Rama.
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. More than 65 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."
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:
