An adventurous kayaking trip turned into a nighttime rescue operation when 69-year-old Mark Thompson found himself stranded on an island in the Saco River. The Conway resident and his son had set out on the river near Diana's Bath in Bartlett with the intent to paddle downstream. However, a challenging stretch of the river resulted in both kayaks capsizing.
Although Thompson's son successfully managed to return to his vessel, Thompson himself reportedly lost his boat, opting instead to swim towards shore. He was last observed around 2 p.m., trudging onshore towards Route 16.
Upon receiving the report around 7:30 p.m., Conway Police activated a comprehensive search operation. This involved a joint effort between the North Conway and Bartlett Fire and Police Departments, Center Conway Fire Department, and the New Hampshire Fish and Game.
The mission culminated close to 11 p.m. when a drone equipped with a thermal camera, employed by Center Conway Fire, identified a heat source on an island in the Bartlett part of the river. Using a rubber rescue boat, the team managed to reach the island and found Thompson shortly after midnight.
Fortunately, despite the harrowing ordeal, Thompson was found unharmed, bringing a relieving conclusion to the tense search operation.
By: Haye Kesteloo
June 20, 2023
Bruce Crumley | May 22 2023 - 1:10 am PT
Patients in eastern Virginia can expect to see the time and effort required to get prescription medication they need considerably reduced with the nearing launch of a new drone delivery program for remote locations.
Drone medication deliveries are being prepared by Virginia’s Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital Group, whose facility in Onancock on the peninsula forming the eastern perimeters of Chesapeake Bay is the overseeing operation. The service will provide faster access to prescriptions for Eastern Shore residents and inhabitants of Tangier Island, the latter of whom currently rely on or organize their own car and boat transportation to obtain orders, which can take nearly a week to arrive.
Assisting the hospital in the activity is UAV startup DroneUp, which is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, just south of the intended area of aerial service.
Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital Group’s medication delivery project is being supported by a $1.9 million grant from the US Department of Transportation. The agency’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation program selected the drone shuttle proposal as one of 59 innovation pitches that were awarded financial backing.
Hospital senior vice president of strategic initiatives Sally Hartman says turning to drone delivery in the same way retailers and food companies have begun reaching customers faster and at lower costs made sense in getting critical medication to people living off Virginia’s beaten track.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to provide care for our patients,” said Hartman of the hospital’s expected June service launch with DroneUp. “This partnership provides us with the opportunity to support patients in more rural communities by improving access to prescription medications with fast at-home delivery.”
Riverside’s drone transportation of medication will be pursued in two stages, with the initial planning and prototyping work using DroneUp UAVs to make mock deliveries to remote trial locations around Virginia’s Eastern Shore already under way. Phase two will begin live test runs from Riverside Hospital to patients’ homes, which will expand and transition into regular operation next month.
Hospital senior vice president of strategic initiatives Sally Hartman says turning to drone delivery in the same way retailers and food companies have begun reaching customers faster and at lower costs made sense in getting critical medication to people living off Virginia’s beaten track.
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