SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - With the arrival of Tropical Storm Karen imminent, Puerto Rico National Guard Tuesday airlifted a newborn patient in need of medical care from Vieques to the University of Puerto Rico Hospital in Carolina.
The 28-day-old baby presented complex symptoms that required medical care he could not receive on the island municipality. Air medical transport services were unavailable and, because of the impending storm, moving the baby by sea was unsafe.
The Puerto Rico Health Department contacted the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau to assign a flight mission to the Puerto Rico National Guard under state activation (Executive Order 2019-049) to transport the baby, their relatives and medical personnel.
"If our service has been a factor in saving a life, we have done our job," said Maj. General José J. Reyes, adjutant general of Puerto Rico. "At the moment, there are thousands of men and women on alert and waiting to be called to serve our people. That is our reason for being and it is what fills us with honor: to serve our people and to be 'Always Present'."
After rigorous safety assessments, the PRNG dispatched a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which picked up the infant and flew him to Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium in Carolina. An ambulance took him to the UPR Hospital in Carolina.