Emergency Activation #116: At 2:25 PM on Monday, May 21, 2012, HDSCS was activated via cell phone by the Director of Facilities at Garden Grove Hospital. The telephone system could not make outgoing calls and there was concern that further problems with the system were in the offing. Five HDSCS members responded to the hospital, with the first two arriving within 40 minutes of the call. Four were stationed in Emergency Department, Intensive Care, Telecommunications and the Command Center. The fifth was a "shadow" to the Director of Facilities. Technicians installed a temporary "patch" into the system, getting it operational in about three hours. After a 30 minute hold, HDSCS operators left the facility, but they were back at the hospital the next morning on standby as the repairs were finalized (see Standby #110 below). Responding to the hospital were Paul Broden K6MHD, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP and Mike Turner W4OPS. Net Controls and outside base stations providing support were April Moell WA6OPS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Jon Schaffer W6UFS.
* 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 May 2013
Emergency Activation #115: At 10:28 AM on April 5, 2011, eight HDSCS leaders received a group page with the code number for Saddleback Hospital in Laguna Hills. Attempts to call the hospital were met with "all circuits busy" recordings. An on-air net formed immediately on two HDSCS repeaters with Joe Moell KØOV at first and later Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ and April Moell WA6OPS as Net Controls. Ken Simpson W6KOS set out for the hospital and KØOV phoned others who live or work nearby to activate them. W6KOS arrived at 11:03 AM with others close behind. The hospital could not receive calls from the public and outgoing calls were partially disrupted, too. Unit-to-unit phone connections were functional but there was concern that they might fail also. HDSCS operators provided a backup to the hospital-to-community phones with Net Control's home phone number given to Orange County Communications for incoming calls as needed. Repair work by the phone provider, both on- and off-premises, continued throughout the day and our network continued also with three HDSCS relief operators arriving in the afternoon. Shortly after 5:30 PM, it was determined that the phone system had been sufficiently restored that Amateur Radio communications were no longer needed. Our operators secured and left at 6 PM. In addition to W6KOS, the HDSCS members responding to the hospital were (in alphabetical order) Tom Hall N6DGK, Scott Lolmaugh WD8ICK, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Dave Popko AF6TN, John Walker AC7GK and Dave West KI6EPI.
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.
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.
Alerts, Drills and Standby Operations
Drill #183: HDSCS was heavily involved in the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) drill for Orange County that took place on Saturday, May 4, 2013. The scenario was terrorism attacks on chemical plants and two malls. 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 Departmental Operations Center. 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 Joe Moell KØOV. Other participating HDSCS members were Paul Broden K6MHD, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, April Moell WA6OPS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP, Jon Schaffer W6UFS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Ralph Swanson WB6JBI and Alan Young AG6DE.
Standby #111: HDSCS members Dave West KI6EPI and Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM were in place at 1 AM on Thursday, April 25, 2013 as College Hospital in Costa Mesa performed a cutover of electrical service. Using their own portable radio gear and the hospital's outside VHF/UHF antenna, they were in contact with base stations operated first by Paul Broden K6MHD and later by Jon Schaffer W6UFS, 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 power system was declared operational and stable just after 3 AM.
Drill #182: The annual California Statewide Medical Health Exercise took place on Thursday, November 15, 2012. HDSCS members communicated from nineteen hospitals plus the Health Operations Center of Orange County Emergency Medical Services agency (OC-EMS). The drill scenario was a series of earthquakes causing physical damage and loss of electrical power around the county. The HDSCS emphasis was a realistic response using our established Core Team 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 a few minutes after the simulated large earthquake took place. This taught our members what it is like to enter, get to Command Centers and get on the air quickly 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). Some of the hospitals simulated damage that required movements of patients and staff and a change in location of the Hospital Command Center. Responding to the hospitals were Paul Broden K6MHD, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Bill Greganti KG6EEK, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Glen Lowe KJ6YTN, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Bob McCord K6IWA, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Joe Moell KØOV, Dale Murry KJ6WFP, Cindy Orrico W6WGA, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Ray Rittenhouse KF6WZN, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Alex Valdez K9BLK, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Dave West KI6EPI and Larry Woolf KF6YCM. Net Controls and outside base station operators were April Moell WA6OPS and Cheryl Simpson KD6MWZ. Jim McLaughlin AB6UF operated from the OC-EMS facility. Only two of the HDSCS participants are hospital employees. The rest are ham operators of many occupations who have attended our specialized training sessions and took time off to support this valuable mission by being dedicated medical communicators.
Drill #181: Although no Orange County hospitals participated in the annual Great California Shakeout on October 18, 2012, HDSCS members held their own on-air preparedness drill. Right after the simulated Richter 7.8 earthquake at 10:18 AM, members established a net and followed the procedures that would have been followed after an actual quake. Members checked in, stating their location and the hospital closest to them at that moment. In an actual quake situation, these members would either go to the closest hospital or would be reassigned to another hospital by Net Control to insure that the status of all supported hospitals would be determined as quickly as possible. From time to time, Net Control also asked questions regarding preparedness items that responders had with them. Participants in this "armchair drill" were Steve Bachmann KJ6LHA, Paul Broden K6MHD, Allen Bullock KD6LCL, Dave Conklin KI6LYZ, Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Bob Duer N6YKX, Bob Evans W9TQC, Roman Kamienski KG6QMZ, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, April Moell WA6OPS, Dale Murry KJ6WFP, Joe Orrico WB6HRO, Cindy Orrico W6WGA, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Allen Renning WB6CKG, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Branden Schlarbaum K2BMS, Ken Simpson W6KOS, Rick Soikkeli AE6RS, Bruce Stinson KJ6YOB, Scott Stys KG6LJY, Mike Turner W4OPS and Dave West KI6EPI.
Shortly after 1 PM on October 25, 2012, HDSCS was activated by pager from Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Power was out at this facility and there was concern about the telephone system. The first HDSCS responder arrived at the hospital at 1330 and another followed shortly thereafter. Fortunately, telephones did not fail, but this emergency standby operation continued until power was fully restored around 3:30 PM. Responding to the hospital were Pete Martinez K2PTM and Ken Simpson W6KOS. Outside net controls and base contacts were Paul Broden K6MHD and Fred Wagner KQ6Q.
Drill #180: The second Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) drill for Orange County in 2012 took place on October 6. 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 a major area wide power outage that led to phone outages, loss of water pressure, etc. HDSCS simulated operations at 23 medical facilities plus Care Ambulance and the Orange County Health Care Agency EOC. Twelve city RACES groups, plus the county RACES and the Red Cross exchanged messages and inquiries on the HDSCS nets. HDSCS Net Control operator was April Moell WA6OPS. Other participating HDSCS members were
Richard Deen KI6HWY, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Bill Greganti KG6EEK, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Glen Lowe KF6YTN, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Joe Moell KØOV, Dale Murry KJ6WFP, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Ralph Swanson WB6JBI.
HDSCS
immediately went on alert following two Richter 4.5 earthquakes in north Orange County on August 7 and 8, 2012. These temblors were centered in the northeast part of the city of Yorba Linda. In each case, HDSCS members were checking in on our primary VHF repeater before the chandeliers stopped swinging. April Moell 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. Within forty minutes, it was determined that all facilities were functional with no power or communications problems. About twenty HDSCS members were on the net each time.
Drill #179: Kaiser Permanente opened a new hospital in Anaheim in September 2012 (pictured at left) to replace the facility on Lakeview in Anaheim Hills. In preparation, the hospital staff and HDSCS performed a simplified mass casualty drill at the new facility on Wednesday afternoon, August 1, 2012. The Command Center was activated and the receipt of a large number of victims in the Emergency Department was simulated. The drill included simulated backup communications, both internal and external, that were provided by HDSCS members. Participating were Paul Broden K6MHD, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Dale Petes KI6ANS and April Moell WA6OPS.
Standby #110: Following a partial failure of the telephone system at Garden Grove Hospital (see Activation #116 above), HDSCS was requested to provide radio operators for backup communications on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 while additional work was done to the system. As the work started, HDSCS operators were in place in the Emergency Department, Telecommunications, and as "shadow" to the Facilities Manager. Troubleshooting of the phone system took longer than expected and it was finally determined that additional repairs had to be made at the telephone service provider's facility. Relief operators were sent to replace members who needed to leave, and operations were finally secured at 4:10 PM after six hours. Taking shifts at the hospital were Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Bill Preston KZ3G and Mike Turner W4OPS. Net Controls and outside base stations providing support were April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Jon Schaffer W6UFS.
Standby #109: A T1 telephone/data trunk line at Garden Grove Hospital became intermittent and noisy on May 17, 2012. The hospital scheduled a replacement for the line for that evening and asked HDSCS members to come in to provide backup communications for critical units within the facility while phones were down for the replacement. Six HDSCS members were stationed at critical units within the facility including Emergency Department, Telemetry, Intensive Care, Stepdown, Mother/Baby and Medical/Surgical. They were Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Chris Sanders KE6BRY and Mike Turner W4OPS. Outside base station contacts were April Moell WA6OPS, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Jon Schaffer W6UFS. Fortunately, the replacement work was uneventful and HDSCS operations lasted about 90 minutes.
Drill #177: California's "Golden Guardian" statewide disaster preparedness exercise for 2012 was staged on May 15. Twenty-one hospitals in Orange County utilized HDSCS Amateur Radio operators in their facilities in response to a simulated Richter 7.8 earthquake. The drill scenario began 18 hours after the fake-quake took place with the hospitals confronting the communications infrastructure issues and supply needs that would be occurring at that point on the time line. An aftershock caused Western Medical Center in Santa Ana (WMCSA) to evacuate 50 patients, who were simulated for the purposes of the drill by community volunteers and nursing students. These "patients" were transported by ambulance to 25 Paramedic Receiving Center hospitals elsewhere in the county. After the drill, HDSCS communicators coordinated the return of these volunteers to WMCSA. Six Amateur Radio repeaters and numerous simplex frequencies were used by HDSCS operators during this drill. Messages included arrangement of emergency transport for an infant, calls to law enforcement for security concerns, and requests for resources from Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency (OC-EMSA) and the Red Cross. Taking their portable equipment into hospitals for this drill were Louie DeArman K6SM, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Bill Hegardt K6WIL, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Bruce Lent K6HRU, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ, Joe Moell KØOV, Cindy Orrico W6WGA, Dale Petes KI6ANS, Bill Preston KZ3G, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Ray Rittenhouse KF6WZN, Chris Sanders KE6BRY, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Branden Schlarbaum K2BMS (pictured at left), Ken Simpson W6KOS, Tom Smith KB6A, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Matt Stofle W6MWS, Scott Stys KG6LJY, Mike Turner W4OPS, Fred Wagner KQ6Q, Dave West KI6EPI and Woody Woodward W6PA. Operating from the OC-EMSA Command Vehicle at WMCSA in support of the evacuation was Tom Gaccione WB2LRH. Home base station and net control operators were Kim DeCelles K9KIM, April Moell WA6OPS, Dave Popko AF6TN, Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP and Jon Schaffer W6UFS.
Standbys #107 and 108: HDSCS members Jim McLaughlin AB6UF and Dave West KI6EPI were on hand on Thursday, March 15, 2012 as College Hospital in Costa Mesa installed a new standby power generation system. Using their own radio gear and the hospital's outside VHF/UHF antenna, they were in contact with base stations operated by April and Joe Moell (WA6OPS and KØOV), ready in case the phone system failed and messages had to be relayed into and out of the hospital. The work went quickly and was uneventful, except that it was determined that a large circuit breaker needed replacement. When that additional work began on the morning of April 26, HDSCS members Cindy Orrico W6WGA and Dave West KI6EPI were on standby at the hospital. They were in constant contact with the same base station team plus Jon and Jackie Schaffer (W6UFS and WA6AKP). Not long after the work started, an unexpected short in the electrical system interrupted power from both Southern California Edison and the new emergency generator. The entire hospital went into darkness except for a few circuits served by small portable generators. Two additional HDSCS operators (Joe Orrico WB6HRO and Ken Simpson W6KOS) were activated to the hospital and the four hams there continued to provide communications and updates through the afternoon. Fortunately, the main switchboard and the hospital's telephone extensions did not go down. Representatives of the California Department of Public Health and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, who were present to monitor the electrical work, were highly impressed by the response of HDSCS and the ability of our volunteers to maintain communications. As the hospital's Disaster Coordinator stated afterward, "Days like these prove that all our hard work in planning and exercising our plans can really pay off. HDSCS presence and availability makes many of my fellow Disaster Coordinators sleep well." In the photo at right are Cindy and Joe Orrico operating by lantern light.
Standby #106: It was nearly an all-nighter for HDSCS members on February 24, 2012 as Western Medical Center in Santa Ana performed an upgrade of its electrical system. A team of HDSCS operators was in place at 10 PM as power was shut down for the work. Their mission was to provide backup for critical unit-to-unit links as well as to the outside world if the telephone system were to fail during this activity. Operators were stationed in the Emergency Department, Surgery, Intensive Care, Pharmacy, Telecommunications and Facilities. As it turned out, no telephone outages occurred, but the hospital appreciated our preparedness and it was an excellent communications drill for us. Work continued throughout the night until power was restored around 4:30 AM. After a hold to make sure that everything was stable, our operations were secured at 5:15 AM. Team leaders on site were Paul Broden K6MHD and Ken Simpson W6KOS. Others taking shifts in hospital units were Richard Deen KI6HWY, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Bob McCord K6IWA, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Chris Sanders KE6BRY, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Clay Stearns KE6TZR, Fred Wagner KQ6Q and Dave West KI6EPI. Pictured at right are KQ6Q and KJ6REP standing; KE6TZR and KI6OEM seated. The outside link operator was April Moell WA6OPS at her home base station. She coordinated the arrivals of the shifts of operators and kept Orange County Emergency Operations Center apprised of the hospital's status. Four additional members were on alert at home throughout the night, ready to deploy quickly if the operation had lasted longer.
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 (at right). 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. Serving as alternate Net Control and outside base stations were Kim DeCelles K9KIM and Jackie Schaffer WA6AKP.
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 #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.
Meetings and Other Activities
The annual HDSCS Orientation and Review Workshop took place at the Schilling Training Center of Care Ambulance Service on Saturday, March 2, 2013. It was a full day 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. In addition to the usual learning modules by April Moell WA6OPS, Joe Moell KØOV and Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, there was a special presentation on "Life Without Full Duplex" by Mike Scofield N6OKG and information about hospital laboratories from Dave West KI6EPI. As always, a highlight was the noontime "disaster potluck" with everything from chicken casseroles, spaghetti and meatballs to fruit plates, salads, homemade cakes and cookies. Guests included leaders of Amateur Radio emergency groups in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties, learning about how to best support the hospitals in their own areas. 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 30, 2012 at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. 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 2012 Disaster Dozen. They are (in alphabetical order): Paul Broden K6MHD, Richard Deen KI6HWY, Tom Gaccione WB2LRH, Rebecca Katzen KI6OEM, Pete Martinez K2PTM, Jim McLaughlin AB6UF, Justin Miller KI6AFZ,Joe Moell KØOV, Dave Reinhard KJ6REP, Gary Sanders KC6TWZ, Ken Simpson W6KOS and Fred Wagner KQ6Q (photo at right). Winner of the Outstanding New Member award for exceptional participation by a person who joined during 2012 was Cindy Orrico W6WGA.
HDSCS recommends that all supported hospitals install VHF/UHF rooftop antennas with low-loss coaxial cable going to the room designated as the Hospital Command Center. Some hospitals have installed additional antennas to serve important units such as the Emergency Department. Funding for some of these antennas has been by grants obtained by the Orange County Heathcare Agency. In most cases, antenna masts are installed and coax cables are run by hospital engineering staff, then volunteer members of the HDSCS Antenna Team place the antennas on the mast, put connectors on the coax, and test the completed antenna assembly. The most recent Antenna Team work took place at Placentia-Linda Hospital on January 21, 2013.
HDSCS frequently holds "radio coaching" sessions to help new members become proficient at operating their own portable equipment. The most recent session was Saturday, November 3, 2012 at Care Ambulance headquarters in Orange. 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 by going to their net repeaters and simplex frequencies. In addition, a VHF/UHF service monitor was provided by Joe Orrico WB6HRO for transceiver tests and adjustments.
At a five-hour mini-workshop on Saturday, September 29, 2012, 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.
The annual HDSCS Termite Contest took place during the entire month of August 2012. 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 October 6, 2012.
When HDSCS members operate from inside hospitals where antenna connections are not available, they sometimes use "crossband repeaters" in their vehicles to relay signals from the hospital interior to distant repeaters. At a special workshop on July 28, 2012 presented by Joe Moell KØOV, HDSCS members learned which mobile transceivers are suitable for this range extension purpose and how to set up these transceivers for crossband operation. Members were encouraged to bring their transceivers and practice crossband operation at the workshop.
Field Day is an annual communications preparedness exercise of the American Radio Relay League in which HDSCS has participated for many years. 2012 was the eleventh 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. Almost 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. After that, all of the Scouts got on the air to make their required contacts. In the late afternoon was a ham radio licensing and upgrade session. Besides the voice operations, several members operated CW mode (Morse Code) and there were contacts through orbiting Amateur Radio satellites as we used our special callsign: W6H. Many thanks to Field Day leader Ken Simpson W6KOS for putting together the event and preparing the results package to submit to ARRL. Click here for a page of photos from Field Day 2012.
In preparation for the annual Golden Guardian Full-Scale Medical Exercise, a HDSCS membership meeting on Sunday afternoon, May 6, 2012 detailed the risk of earthquakes in Orange County and their likely effects on the hospitals. In addition to a video about the Loma Prieta earthquake at Kaiser hospitals in the Bay area, there were excerpts from a FEMA course on earthquake mitigation for hospitals and graphics about the faults of greatest threat to the county, presented by Kate Hutton K6HTN, Staff Seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena (pictured at left).
At a special meeting on April 16, 2012, Adam Teller (pictured at right), the Procurement Transplant Coordinator from OneLegacy, told HDSCS members and their guests about the importance of donated organs and tissues, as well as the procedures for solicitation and recovery of organs for transplant. OneLegacy is a non-profit organ and tissue recovery organization serving the seven-county greater Los Angeles area. The presentation also included details of the OneLegacy Simulation Center, a high-tech training facility that improves the skills of healthcare workers involved in organ donor management.
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.
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.
Jon Schaffer W6UFS presented 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.
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.
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. 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.
HDSCS was a regular participant in the Long Beach area Scout-O-Rama at Heartwell Park. 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 left). 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. Click for a page of photos from HDSCS at 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:
