Coast Guard medevacs motor vessel passenger near Unimak Island, Alaska

News Release

August 13, 2017 U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Alaska Contact: 17th District Public Affairs Office: (907) 463-2065 After Hours: (907) 209-8731

Coast Guard medevacs motor vessel passenger near Unimak Island, Alaska

KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew forward deployed to the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley medevaced a passenger from the motor ship The World in the vicinity of Unimak Island, Alaska, Saturday.

 

The Dolphin crew safely hoisted a female passenger and attending nurse and transported them to awaiting emergency medical services personnel in Cold Bay.

 

Coast Guard District 17 command center watchstanders received a medevac request from Global Rescue personnel stating an 87-year-old woman was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was briefed and recommended a medevac.

 

"We were fortunate to have the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews in the vicinity of the motor vessel to assist in a timely response,” said Master Chief Petty Officer James Armstrong, D17 Command Center chief. “The expeditious actions of all Coast Guard personnel and The World’s crew ensured this woman received prompt attention to be transferred to higher medical care.”

 

Weather on scene at the time of the hoist was 19-mph winds. Unimak Island is approximately 43 miles southwest of Cold Bay.

 

2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the Coast Guard’s presence in Alaska. On August 12, 1867 the Revenue Cutter Lincoln transported the first federal officials to Sitka for the formal transfer of proprietorship from Russia on October 18, 1867. Since then, the Coast Guard's duty to protect the people and waters of Alaska and the Arctic has grown alongside the 49th state's ever-increasing role in American commerce, Arctic exploration and national sovereignty.

 

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