Coast Guard medevacs child from cruise ship over 200 miles offshore

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 07/08/2019 10:48 PM EDT

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U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
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Coast Guard medevacs child from cruise ship over 200 miles offshore

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PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- A Coast Guard helicopter crew flew to the rescue for a 7-year-old girl aboard the Cruise Ship Celebrity Summit Monday, medevacing her to a hospital in Virginia for higher level care.

The cruise ship contacted the Coast Guard to request assistance with a girl who was experiencing abdominal pain while enroute from New Jersey to Bermuda. The 5th District flight surgeon determined that she needed a medical evacuation and the command center dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

The girl, a parent and ship’s nurse were transported to the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk.

“Good communication between the cruise ship, aircrew and Coast Guard command centers in New York and Portsmouth allowed us to get this child the help she needed,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Badal, a watchstander in the 5th District Command Center.

-USCG-