Latest News
Cochran Station Disconnected, Delay on Clinic Installations
July 22, 2009
According to Mr. Keith Vogt, the Safety Officer for the VAMC,
a new director was appointed over the St. Louis VA sites. Numerous
changes were made and a lot of people were moved in and out of the Cochran
facility. As a result, the amateur radio equipment was removed and packed up.
The coax was coiled
up in the ceiling. The idea is to have the radio and coax run down to the
third floor, but no funds are available to do this right now.
The St Charles and Lewis & Clark clinics will be relocating. It is unclear
exactly when and where they will be moved, but they have uninstalled
the antenna and coax at the Lewis & Clark facility and will not be installing
the amateur radio at the St. Charles clinic. The Belleville clinic will
remain where it is, but there are no plans to install the antenna and radio
until the end of this year, if funds are available.
This is a considerable setback, but the VAMC still seems committed to
having amateur radio connectivity, so we are hopeful that these issues
will be resolved. In the meantime, we still have access to the amateur
radio station at the Jefferson Barracks Hospital.
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January 3, 2009
The antenna system has been installed on the North County clinic. It
has not yet been connected to the transceiver.
According to the VAMC, the owners of the buildings at the remaining
two clinic sites are expressing reluctance at allowing the 'non-invasive
quadpod mast mounts' to be held down with concrete blocks. They cite
concerns about the weight.
September 8, 2008
The VAMC rents, rather than owns the buildings housing its three clinics.
The building owners refused permission to install permanent antenna mounts
on the buildings, so the VAMC is in the process of purchasing 'non-invasive'
mounting hardware. These will consist of tripods or similar bases which
will be held in place by concrete blocks.
April 14, 2008
The amateur radio station at the John Cochran V.A. Hospital is now up and running. The
Cochran Hospital was the first of the VAMC sites to have its amateur radio antenna and
feedline installed, but an error in the placement of the feedline resulted in its
accidental destruction. New feedline was obtained and routed, and in mid-April 2008
the amateur radio station was connected and tested. This means that both of the VAMC
Hospitals have functioning amateur radio stations. The three outlying clinics still
need to have antennas and feedlines installed.
March 29, 2008
St. Louis County ARES® held a
Simplex Zone Exercise on March 29, 2008. Team member Paul, KD0CIW, manned
the amateur radio station at Jefferson Barracks Hospital during the
exercise. This was the first time one of the Veterans Administration
Medical Center stations was used in an exercise.
January 25, 2008
We originally reported that the VAMC would require FEMA courses IS-100,
IS-700, and IS-800. This was incorrect. Only IS-100 and IS-700 will be
required. St. Louis County ARES®,
however, will still require volunteers who wish to be deployed to take
the ARECC Level 1 course.
September 8, 2007
The VAMC announced that it would follow SEMA (Missouri State Emergency Management Agency)
guildelines and require that amateur radio volunteers complete the FEMA IS-100 and IS-700
courses. (See the Training page for more information about
these courses.) St. Louis County ARES® will also require
that volunteers wishing to be deployed take the ARECC (Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Course) Level 1 course. The VAMC has decided not to require
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) training for amateur radio
volunteers.
August 13, 2007
St. Louis County ARES® Emergency
Coordinator Steve Wooten announced at the monthly
ARES® meeting that the Jefferson
Barracks Hospital amateur radio station is up and running. This station
will likely participate in the October 13, 2007 Field Station Demonstration
and Exercise.
July 9, 2007
Amateur radio stations have been placed in both Cochran Hospital and
Jefferson Barracks Hospital. Unfortunately, there were problems with the
feed line installation at both hospitals, so the stations are not yet up
and running. The VAMC, however, remains committed to the project.
June 11, 2007
Installation of the amateur radio stations (antennas, feed lines, radios,
and computers) in the two hospitals (Cochran and Jefferson Barracks) is
expected to be completed by June 16-17, 2007.
The VAMC will be participating in a statewide earthquake drill on
June 20, 2007 and wants St. Louis County
ARES® to provide operators at both
hospitals during the event. Beyond that, the VAMC would also like
amateur radio drills performed at least on a quarterly basis.
March 12, 2007
Antenna and feed line installation is in progress at the
Cochran Hospital. If the weather stays nice, installation will begin
soon at the Jefferson Barracks Hospital.
The VAMC has noted that SEMA (the Missouri State Emergency Management
Agency) requires all volunteers to take FEMA courses IS100, IS700, and
IS800. While the VAMC has not yet decided to make this mandatory for
ARES® volunteers, it is considering
doing so. Also, the VAMC would like for
ARES® volunteers to take the
ARRL's ARECC Level I course (Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course).
The VAMC further stated that the agreement it will sign will be with
St. Louis County ARES® and not with
the amateur radio community at large. It will insist that only St. Louis
County ARES® members be assigned to
its facilities.
The VAMC has obtained computers and TNCs (Terminal Node Controllers) so
that its amateur radio equipment can handle packet radio. The TNCs must
be programmed with specific call signs, and reprogramming them on the
fly is not trivial. Therefore the VAMC would like for St. Louis County
ARES® to apply for and obtain a club
call sign, which, along with unique suffixes, will be programmed into
the TNCs.
Due to HIPAA (Health
Insurance Privacy and Accountability Act) requirements,
ARES® responders will not be allowed
to bring their own computers to the VAMC facilities.
October 14, 2006
Although a formal MOU has not yet been signed, officials at the V.A.
Medical Center were receptive to St. Louis County
ARES® holding a Simulated Emergency
Test on the V.A. Medical Center properties. The S.E.T. took place
on October 14, 2006 at all five V.A.M.C. locations. V.A. observers were
at several of the sites. The S.E.T. was deemed a success by all parties
concerned.
September 11, 2006
Steve Wooten, the Emergency Coordinator, gave an update on the group's
developing relationship with the St. Louis Veterans Administration Medical
Center at the September
St. Louis County ARES®
meeting. He said that the V.A. was currently
looking into liability and HIPAA compliance issues.
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