Practicing To Help Save Lives

Mercy One is seen taking off from Oskaloosa Saturday morning

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Mahaska County Emergency Management and Jeff Sisul of Mercy One helped to demonstrate landing techniques to members of fire, law and other emergency services Saturday morning in the parking lot of Gateway Church of the Nazarene on the west side of Oskaloosa.

At 11:00 that familiar sound could be heard coming towards the church as the Bell 407 of Mercy One, of Mercy Medical Center, headed in from the west flying over the church and making it’s final approach to the parking lot from the southeast.

Jamey Robinson of Mahaska County Emergency Management said they are working on landing zone communication training. “It’s going to teach our CERT members, or responders within the county, how we’re going to communicate with helicopters when setting up landing zones, when we have scene flights for motor vehicle accidents, or incidents way out in the county where it would be faster for them to go by air than it would by ground”, Robinson said explaining the importance of the exercise.

Jeff Sisul, Flight Nurse with Mercy One said they work all groups to help in training exercises like this one, “when there is a time and need we can all work together better”, he went on to explain these exercises also help to build team relationships so everyone can work better when the time arises.

Mercy has two aircraft, one based in Des Moines and the other is based in Knoxville.

Just some of the departments that participated in the training included; Mahaska County CERT team, Mahaska County Sheriff, Oskaloosa Police and Fire, New Sharon Fire and Rescue, Mahaska County Ambulance, Cedar Township Fire, Eddyville Fire, Barnes City Fire and Mercy One.