Cincinnati - University Air Care and the Cincinnati Fire Department will hold a disaster drill on Tuesday, Aug. 16, on the helipad of The University Hospital. Members of the media are invited to attend for b-roll, photographs and/or interviews. Please meet in the main lobby at The University Hospital at 8:30 a.m. to be escorted to the helipad. The drill will start promptly at 9 a.m. (*Please note: Because the helipad elevators and stairs will be closed during the drill, members of the media will be required to remain on the helipad until approximately 9:30 or 9:45 a.m.)

The scenario of the drill is as follows:

"An emergency medical services helicopter from an outlying hospital is transporting a patient to The University Hospital. Upon landing, a skid on the aircraft hits the fence surrounding the edge of the helipad. This causes the helicopter to roll onto the helipad and catch fire. There are four to five victims involved. Responding fire units, needing close access to the fire, block the entrance to the hospital's emergency department. As a result of the fire on the helipad, a nearby unit in the hospital must be evacuated."

During the drill, an actual pan fire will occur on the helipad. "Actors" will be on hand to play the role of victims, and fire trucks and EMS vehicles will arrive on the scene. The Cincinnati Fire Department will use the hospital's foam fire suppression system to extinguish the fire.

"Although a disaster such as this is unlikely to occur, it's always best to be prepared," says Dudley Smith, corporate director of Alliance Medical Transport Service and director of Alliance Disaster Management. "This exercise helps the firefighters learn more about the fire suppression system on the helipad, and also trains hospital staff in disaster preparedness."

University Air Care was established on Nov. 1, 1984, to provide rapid critical care transport to the community and to assist other heath care providers, including hospitals and EMS providers. Since its inception, Air Care has completed more than 22,000 patient care flights, and now has a remote base at University Pointe in West Chester to better serve the Butler and Warren county communities. University Air Care has received accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services (CAMTS), the highest standard by which medical transport services can be measured.

The University Hospital is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system that also includes The Christ Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care. To view other Health Alliance news releases, go to www.health-alliance.com/pressroom.

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