SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircrew conducted a medical evacuation of a Celebrity Apex cruise ship passenger in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 140 nautical miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Monday.
The patient was a 64-year-old woman, U.S. citizen, experiencing an abdominal medical emergency which required a higher level of medical care ashore.
Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan received a communication from the Celebrity Apex Monday morning notifying the medical emergency and requesting a medical evacuation to a higher level of care.
Watchstanders coordinated arrangements and directed the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter to rendezvous with the cruise ship. Once on scene, the Coast Guard aircrew deployed their rescue swimmer aboard the cruise ship, who used a rescue basket to hoist the patient, her spouse and the cruise ship nurse aboard the aircraft.
The Coast Guard aircrew transported the patient to the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where awaiting local emergency medical service personnel received and transported her to the local “Centro Medico” Hospital.
"Thanks to the outstanding coordination between Sector San Juan, the crew of the Celebrity Apex and our team at Air Station Borinquen, we were able to safely conduct the hoist and transport of three individuals from the cruise ship,” said Lt. William Boardman, Air Station Borinquen MH-60T aircraft commander for the case. “The patient was successfully transferred to EMS and transported to a higher level of care, and I’m proud of the professionalism displayed throughout the mission.”
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