KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew safely transferred an ailing 72-year-old cruise ship passenger to emergency medical personnel in Juneau August 28.
The Coast Guard received a request for the medevac from the Royal Caribbean fleet medical operations director in France at 11:28 a.m. The patient was reportedly suffering from symptoms of cardiac distress aboard the cruise ship Radiance of the Sea anchored off of Pt. Sophia near Chichagof Island 34 miles southwest of Juneau.
The cruise ship crew transported the man and his wife in a small boat to shore where they met EMS personnel from Hoonah. The rescue helicopter crew arrived in Hoonah shortly after 1 p.m.
The patient and his wife were safely transferred to the Coast Guard helicopter and arrived in Juneau at about 3 p.m. Once in Juneau they boarded an Airlift Northwest jet and flown to Seattle for further care.
“This case was successful because we were able to utilize our partnerships with various agencies to transport the patient to a higher level of medical care,” said Lt. Bernard Auth, a Coast Guard District 17 command center search and rescue controller.
