One of the beauties of amateur radio is that you never know who you’re going to talk to, and what can happen as a result of a QSO.
For example, on Saturday, I worked Gary, N5PHT. As I usually do, I looked him up on QRZ.Com. On this page, Gary noted that at the VA Hospital where he works they have a club station. Well, that certainly piqued my interest. Our club has been looking for that our station could call home for quite a while now.
When I got the chance, I asked Gary about the club station, but unfortunately band conditions changed and we could only chat briefly about it. I asked if I could send him an e-mail to continue the discussion, and he agreed. On Sunday, we swapped some e-mail. I asked him how he went about getting permission to set up a station there, and he replied that several of his hospital’s employees were hams, and that the VA even had a policy on establishing club stations in VA hospitals. He said he would try and get in contact with someone here in Ann Arbor and introduce me to him or her.
This morning, I was copied on an e-mail he sent to the director of the Ann Arbor VA Hospital, and an hour later, I got a call from the hospital’s chief of police! He listened very intently as I described ham radio and what services we could provide to the hospital, including recreational opportunities for the patients and emergency communications. While it’s certainly not a done deal, I’m very encouraged by this turn of events. With any luck, this will turn into a win-win situation for both the VA Hospital and our club.
Gary noted that there are three VA hospitals in Texas that he knows of that have amateur radio club stations. It seems to me that this is something that other clubs looking to set up club stations should look into.
Rob Kinney KG6EFH says
If by chance someone in the same boat, or already has info of VA Hospital ARC’s please email me @ [email protected] . I already have contacted W6VAH on 20M, but need a list of others.
We have just got our system started at the Roseburg VA in Oregon. We do not have a club call yet as we are just pulling it together.