![[Currents header graphic]](http://www.ucsc.edu/homeart/currents_header.gif)
June 15, 1998
A CalSTAR (California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue) ambulance helicopter is scheduled to land at UCSC's lower East Field on Thursday, June 25. The helicopter is part of a training exercise for the campus's Fire and Police Departments and local emergency personnel.
The training session will start at 1:30 p.m. and last approximately one hour. It is open to emergency personnel only, and the area will be closed to the public.
During the exercise, the participants will practice the techniques needed to safely work with an air ambulance, including how to approach the helicopter, load a patient, and communicate with the helicopter via radio.
"It prepares us to safely interface with the CalSTAR people in the event we needed to call in an air ambulance," said UCSC Fire Captain Mike Quinton, who coordinated the training exercise with CalSTAR.
Air ambulances are used to transport severely injured people to advanced trauma facilities in San Jose and the San Francisco Bay Area where they can get more specialized care than is available here.
A number of local police and fire departments are expected to attend the training exercise. These include members of UCSC's Fire and Police Departments; the Santa Cruz Fire Department; California Department of Forestry, Big Creek Station; and the American Medical Response Ambulance Company.