Mrs Andrea Johnstone1, Miss Cassidy Parker1
1New Zealand Air Ambulance Service, Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract:
Cassidy and Andrea will present two cases of interest from a mission coordination perspective, for patients both of whom were cruising the high seas until misfortune came their way.
Andrea will present a case of a patient who fell ill at sea and medivac was requested, to obtain confirmed diagnosis and tertiary level hospital care. The challenges were timing the medivac around pilot duty hours and the ship’s ETA and ETD into and out of Port, an unconfirmed clinical diagnosis and the extra complexities of this not being our regular inter-hospital transfer procedure.
Cassidy will present a case of a commercial evacuation of a sailor who suffered a life-changing injury after a submersion incident in a swimming pool. The complexities around this case were the patient’s constantly evolving clinical condition, language barriers with the staff at the treating hospital and working with unfamiliar airlines.
Both cases presented interesting and unique challenges to the Mission Coordination team and provided them with many learning opportunities as the cases unfolded. The medical teams provided outstanding critical care in the air which resulted in high levels of job satisfaction to all involved, as our teams worked together, overcome the many obstacles, got the jobs done and the respective patients reached their destinations for the ongoing care they so urgently needed.
Biographies:
Andrea has been a Mission Coordinator with New Zealand Air Ambulance Service for 5 years. Her background is as a medical laboratory scientist specializing in microbiology and embryology. She has always had a strong interest in medicine, has family ties to the aviation industry, and enjoys combining the two with her coordinating skills, to arrange smooth aeromedical evacuations for each and every patient case she is involved with. Andrea is also thankful to work with such a professional and dedicated team at New Zealand Air Ambulance Service.
Cassidy has been a Mission Coordinator with New Zealand Air Ambulance Service for 2 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in aviation management and an interest in all things aviation. She enjoys learning new skills and is fascinated in how Aviation and Medicine can work together with the many rules and regulations of the complex industries. Cassidy is a proud member of New Zealand Air Ambulance Service and enjoys problem solving complex missions, seeing successful outcomes for patients and her team.