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June 7, 1999

Air ambulance will make training run at UCSC

By Francine Tyler

A CalSTAR (California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue) ambulance helicopter is scheduled to land at UCSC's lower East Field on Wednesday, June 23. 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 until 3 p.m. 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.

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 and Bonny Doon Fire Departments; California Department of Forestry, Big Creek Station; and the American Medical Response Ambulance Company.

View photos of last year's training exercise


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