HERO stands for Hospital Emergency Radio Operator. ARES and the Desert RATS have a team whose job it is to support Eisenhower Medical Center in case of a loss of internal communication, such as when someone puts a back hoe through the buried phone lines or a major computer crash, that takes out the phone system. Of course when The Big One hits, it will go without saying that the team would activate and support the hospital.
Any licensed Ham operator may join the team. We operate primarily on VHF and UHF simplex and repeater frequencies. You will need a HT, a go kit, some basic training and be an ARES member. The courses are FEMA courses available on line, plus we will be doing some Saturday training on hospital message handling and medical terminology. There will also be a Monday evening net, once a month.
Our short term goal is the support of Eisenhower Medical Center. Our long term goal is to also support Desert Regional and Kennedy hospitals.
If you are interested, April Moell will be speaking on the subject at our up coming Hamfest. You may also contact me directly. All of my info is located in this newsletter.
