Coast Guard Air Station Sitka employs three Jayhawk helicopters and serves the people of Southeast Alaska performing search and rescue, law enforcement, aids to navigation, and various other missions.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Wryan Webb.
KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk Medium-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew medevac (medical evacuation) a cruise ship passenger at the entrance to Chatham Strait near Juneau, Alaska, Tuesday.
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka aircrew aboard an MH-60T Jayhawk rescue (MRR) helicopter arrived on scene at approximately 4 p.m., deployed the rescue swimmer, hoisted the 62-year-old man and a nurse and headed to land to transfer them to an awaiting Airlift Northwest EMS aircrew in Sitka for further transport.
U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector Juneau received the initial request for the medevac from the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas at 2:18 p.m., stating the passenger was reportedly experiencing heart attack-like symptoms.
“Good communication with the cruise ship and the MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew ensured proper coordination for the medevac,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jared Buchmiller, an operations specialist at the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center. “We were able to conduct the medevac efficiently so the patient could receive a higher level of medical care.”
On scene conditions at the time of the medevac included 10 nautical miles visibility, winds at 18 knots per hour and 2-foot seas.
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