TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- Emergency personnel from the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) conducted MedEvac training here recently to demonstrate proper emergency aeromedical services and provide valuable training to Tobyhanna's first responders.
Nineteen depot personnel attended the training as part of the Aeromedical Transport of Trauma and Medical Patients/MedEvac Safety Orientation program, including employees from the Fire and Emergency Services and Environmental Safety and Occupational Health branches.
Participants were provided a brief history of air medical evacuation, principles of trauma triage and learned the procedure for setting up an appropriate landing zone to carry out aeromedical services. Assistant Fire Chief Daryl Gebhardt said the training is extremely beneficial for several depot personnel across a wide range of disciplines.
"This training will benefit Tobyhanna emergency personnel by providing them with increased knowledge and a heightened awareness for requesting and carrying out aeromedical services," he said. "The one-on-one interaction with the flight crew from Lehigh Valley provided our personnel training specific to the nature of the industrial work that occurs at the depot. There are many instances where aeromedical services could be required to transport our employees to the appropriate medical facilities to expedite their treatment in the case of an emergency." Gebhardt works in the Installation Services Directorate's Fire and Emergency Services Branch.
Donald Shambo, flight paramedic from LVHN, agreed the training will greatly benefit depot emergency personnel.
"The presentation we give provides the opportunity to practice a helicopter landing, loading of a patient and safe operations around the helicopter," said Shambo. "It also gives us a chance to answer questions and interact with the people in our area responsible for emergency operations."
LHVN offers the class and training free of charge to any fire, police and emergency medical service units in its service area. Gebhardt noted this was the first time Tobyhanna has been involved in this type of training and the response has been positive.
"This training isn't something we are able to accomplish every day, so getting the opportunity for a close-up look at the helicopter and a hands-on interaction provides our personnel with insight that would otherwise not be available," said Gebhardt.
Shambo recognized the effort and attitude of depot employees during the training.
"It was a pleasure working with Tobyhanna personnel. I found everyone to be very helpful in making the class a success and look forward to conducting more MedEvac classes in the future," he said.
Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, technology insertion, modification, and global field support to warfighters.
About 3,300 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.
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