Coast Guard conducts medevac of a 5-month-old King Cove girl

JUNEAU, Alaska – A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircraft and a forward deployed HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew in Cold Bay conducted a medevac of a 5-month-old King Cove girl with respiratory difficulties Thursday evening.

The 17th Coast Guard District command center received a call at approximately 1:15 p.m. from a doctor at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage relaying a medevac request from personnel at the King Cove Clinic for the child. The Coast Guard duty flight surgeon was notified of the situation and determined an immediate medevac was warranted.

At approximately 3:30 p.m. the Dolphin crew was launched to pick up the child and her mother. Simultaneously, the Hercules crew along with a flight surgeon was launched to Cold Bay as it is unable to land in King Cove.

The child and her parents were picked up by the Dolphin crew and taken to Cold Bay where they were transferred to the Hercules crew. The Hercules crew left Cold Bay at approximately 5:40 p.m. enroute Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson where the girl and her parents were transferred to local emergency services personnel at 7:35 p.m.

Between the two Coast Guard assets involved approximately 765 miles were covered to conduct the medevac.