One of the most interesting things that I discovered from my QSO in Episode 22, with April Moell, WA6OPS, was the real public safety value that amateur radio operators could provide to their local communities by providing backup communications to hospitals.  I guess I was caught in the mind set that our role, if we are permitted, is to supply this kind of service in major disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes, and floods. How often do these types of emergencies happen to most of us where our skills are tested?  

So here are the take aways and conclusions that I draw from my QSO with April: 

• There must be an organization and it must have a plan
  
• Breaking down the ham volunteers to areas around the hospital, and for time of day, allows for a real and timely response and not a "no one was available" response. 
  
• All members need to be trained before they arrive on the scene - and hams who are not trained should stay home
  
• Regular and consistent training and drill are keys to success.
  
• Simple communications, on VHF and UHF, where all members share the same technology is key to communications success. Not everyone has digital modes or is computer literate, even in 2015.
  
• If you are serving a hospital or another professional institution, the dress code is "casual professional". A low profile during business hours will keep the emergency from becoming common knowledge among the patients and their families. Blinking call sign badges and call sign hats are better left in the car. 
  
• The "Go Kit" should contain not only radios, connectors, antennas, and feedline, but it should also contain food, water, medicine, and any other supplies to keep the ham up and operational for at least six hours.
  
• Hospital emergency communications is highly valuable. The barriers to entry for hams does not have the red tape that other agencies may impose.  Outages are frequent enough that those hams who are active get a lot of on the job training at least a few times a year.  They are ready for even larger emergencies and disasters and already have the training and mechanisms to be called out when needed. 
  

If you are public safety minded, and I guess most of us should be, then explore volunteering for a hospital emergency group near you, or contact April if you want to form one. The HDSCS website is packed with enough informaton to get a group started in your area.  

Finally, be sure to add your own take-aways in the comments section below. 

73, 
Eric Guth, 4Z1UG

After recording over 20 QSOs for the podcast, I am always left with the amazing feeling that what makes my guest amateur radio operators successful is the commitment to moving forward in their area of the hobby. In Episode 12 with Wayne and Sharon Spring, I was struck by the daily steps that were, and still are taken, by Wayne, to master the restoration of radio gear, that has allowed him to accumulate expertise and skill.  Wayne's secret,  has been to take daily steps to incrementally move his ball forward. As a result, he is number one in the World for the restoration of Collins radio gear. 

This dedication to taking a single step every day, to becoming better and more successful, is the theme of many of the entrepreneural blogs and podcasts that are now on the Internet. Success in business as in life is made through taking daily steps towards our goal or goals.  Our ham radio hobby is so vast, that it may be a good place to start in one direction for a while to develop skills and expertise, before changing direction to some other area of the hobby. 

As hams, we have made major contributions to communications, technology, computing, and advancing the state of the art. However, all of these hams did not make these break throughs with short sprints every once in a while. They were made with a single minded pursuit of a solution to a problem left to be solved.

One of the hams here in Israel told me that the best advice he was given from another ham was to make one QSO per day.  Just one.  Over time these will add up to over 300 per year.  How many of us make 300 QSOs a year?  

73, 
Eric Guth, 4Z1UG