Ambulance Service Tests Communication Equipment:

Emergency medical dispatchers with The Medical Center EMS participated in a statewide drill Monday to test the effectiveness and efficiency of amateur radio for use in disasters when other communication methods are knocked out. "It's another backup system that we can use locally," EMS operations manager Jim Williams said. "It's less likely to fail." The drill is part of a larger statewide communications exercise including many organizations that have a role in disaster response. Monday afternoon, EMS set up a mobile command center in a back parking lot where EMS dispatchers Tim Meyer and Robert Doughty -- both amateur radio operators in their off-duty time -- tested communication with state and regional health partners. "We don't have to do it," Williams said. "We're doing it because it's the right thing." Monday's test in the afternoon was interrupted by atmospheric conditions that were expected to change when the sun began to set. Both Meyer and Doughty were in it for the long haul Monday and had planned to stay into the evening. Meyer and Doughty are also part of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service group, part of a nationwide program that uses amateur radio operators to maintain communications during disasters. "In a time of emergency with a disaster that knocks out normal communications, we can set up amateur radio to communicate between various points," Doughty said. "We can use it to communicate with the hospital, to the EOC (emergency operations center) in Frankfort."

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