[Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone

[Andrew Clegg]

They used Medstar today. Dispatcher asked for a patient update twice while 
awaiting Medstar arrival, but I never heard one. It's possible that it 
wasn't a working code in the end, but that's what the main guy on scene said 
it was shortly after arrival.

It was a strange call -- the woman fell down some rocks at the dog park into 
Four Mile Creek, and was bleeding from the face. Reporting party (or 
parties) on scene said she wasn't responding appropriately to questions when 
they tried to help her. Upon arrival, her case was upgraded to a possible 
working code, then they called for Medstar. The crew was asking for 24 ft 
ladders, a stokes basket, and line to help get her out. I don't know the dog 
park she was in exactly (I know the approximate area, down off the 
industrial section of Four Mile Run, near the studio for the News Hour with 
Jim Lehrer), but I'm surprised that there was a significant drop anywhere in 
Arlington. Anyway, I hope she's OK, and if she was with her dog, I hope her 
dog is OK.

If you talk to your friend, it would be interesting to hear more details.

By the way, Medstar uses one of the TGIDs on the Arlington system (at least 
the analog system). I don't know if that's just for Arlington calls, but I 
hear them often reporting their whereabouts as they transport patients to, 
from, and (mostly) between hospitals, including hospitals outside of 
Arlington.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Kitchener" <oldsdoug at hotmail.com>
To: <w4jecom at w4je.com>; <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 9:21 PM
Subject: RE: [Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone



I'll have to check that one out with my Arlington firefighter buddy - 
unusual for Arlington to helicopter anybody; esp, I would think, a working 
code.  He is a the Pentagon City station and they almost always transport 
into the District.  (That may have changed, tho, I think he told me that GW 
had lost its trauma center rating?)  In Montgomery, trauma codes are rarely 
airlifted, but are almost always transported by ground to the nearest 
hospital (at least it seems that way from listening to the scanner!) - I 
don't know what their protocol says (I'm sure someone will help on this!) 
but have always wondered if that was at least partly due to the (lack of?) 
space on a helicopter... the patient area in the MSP helicopters has always 
seemed a bit small to me and I wondered if there is physically enough room 
for more than one or two people to work on a patient in the helicopter.

By the way, which helicopter does Arlington use for medevacs?

DK

----------------------------------------
> From: w4jecom at w4je.com
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Sun, 10 May 2009 18:19:22 -0400
> Subject: [Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone
>
> For a working code for a 70-year-old woman who fell down some rocks at the
> dog park at Arlington Mill and Four Mile Run. Landing zone is Wakefield 
> HS.
>
> I still don't understand the concept of helicopters when you're in the
> middle of a darn city. And it's Sunday afternoon. No traffic. They could 
> be
> at the hospital faster by ambulance.
>
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