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Ham Radio Rescues
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The height of hurricane season is right now and emergency responders can be just as vulnerable to the weather as the rest of us. When they can’t communicate through standard means, ham radio operators step in. In Florida, the Amateur Methodist Emergency Network – known as AMEN Radio – is going one step further by connecting medical professionals with those who need immediate aid in the field. Reed Galin has more. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Lakeland, FL)
When Hurricane Charley hit Florida, AMEN Radio was an answer to the prayers of many storm victims.
Becky Castillo/Hurricane Victim: “You’re lost, basically. Because you don’t know where to run to, you don’t know, you can’t speak to anyone.”
Even police radios went down in the aftermath of Charley. So the amateur radio station at the United Methodist Church’s offices in Central Florida helped with emergency communications and relief efforts.
Anne Burkholder/ Florida Conference, United Methodist Church: “When people can’t communicate with each other, there’s a real feeling of isolation. And it heightens the fear.”
Now United Methodist radio operators are planning a life-saving mission, working with the University of South Florida to provide medical help over the airwaves. They saw how important it could be after a hurricane hit Honduras.
Judy Keats/University of South Florida: “We had a medical missionary there who wanted to consult with a physician, and he was a ham radio operator, but he didn’t have means of finding a doctor.”
Doctors will be able to log on by computer from their homes or offices, and relay medical advice through ham operators.
The Rev. Tom Norton/ Florida Conference, United Methodist Church: “If you’re the person that’s injured in the field and you have someone standing over you that could possibly help you, but doesn’t really know how, and you can contact a medical technician that does know how, it can save your life.”
AMEN Radio operators say they hope to be a medical lifeline in future disasters.
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There’s also a big need for more amateur radio operators. Their numbers
have been shrinking as more people use cell phones, e-mail and Internet
chat rooms to communicate.
For more information, contact AMEN Radio at: www.amenradio.org.
To read more about this story, see Amateur radio network tunes in help for storm-stricken areas.