NORTH BEND, Ore. — A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a 78-year-old man from a cruise ship 29 miles southwest of Newport, Ore., Friday.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend and forward deployed to Coast Guard Air Facility Newport, safely transferred the man to emergency medical service personnel waiting at the air facility.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a medevac request at 1:40 a.m. from personnel aboard the Crystal Serenity, a 820-foot Bahamas-flagged cruise ship homeported in Nassau, for a passenger suffering from internal bleeding.
The aircrew launched in response, and while en route, sector watchstanders notified Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital personnel in Newport of an incoming patient and contacted Lincoln County Dispatchers to request an EMS crew for patient transfer.
“Our crews train regularly in order to safely and efficiently transport the sick and injured to a higher level of care when needed,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Aspiras, a operations specialist at Sector North Bend. “The crews training and ability to work with our local partners helps ensure the safety of those who find themselves in emergency situations.”
The cruise ship was transiting from Astoria to San Fransisco, California.