UCSC Hosted A Training Session For Fire And Rescue Personnel From Campus And The County

Coming in for a landing: A CalSTAR (California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue) ambulance helicopter landed on the lower East Field June 25 for a training session that drew fire and rescue personnel from the campus and the county. In attendance were UCSC firefighters, California Department of Forestry staff from the Big Creek Station, and paramedics from the American Medical Response Ambulance Company. According to UCSC Fire Captain Mike Quinton, the purpose of the exercise was to familiarize rescue personnel with the techniques and procedures necessary for working safely with air ambulances.

Eric Lewis, a nurse with CalSTAR, shows the interior of the B-105 helicopter used to transport severely injured patients to nearby medical trauma facilities. CalSTAR is a nonprofit company established in 1984 with bases in Ukiah, Auburn, Concord, and Gilroy. The air ambulances are staffed by a pilot and two nurses and can lift out two severely injured people at a time. Traveling at a cruising speed of 150 MPH, the CalSTAR helicopter can take a patient from the Santa Cruz area to a San Jose trauma center in 12 to 15 minutes. Lewis adds that, "This job is the best nursing job on the face of the earth."

CalSTAR’s Eric Lewis stands at the back of the helicopter where patients are loaded in. The rescue helicopter is small, enabling it to land in tight spots other helicopters might not fit into. The vehicle is also remarkably advanced: According to CalSTAR’s Jim Kovacs (pictured standing at far left), "This helicopter is basically a flying intensive care unit."