Several staff members from Grand Teton National Park assisted a hiker Wednesday evening after she suffered from cardiac distress on the Hermitage Point trail.
Responders located and assisted a 74-year-old woman from Amsterdam, Holland who was reported to be in cardiac distress, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office.
The woman was assessed and initially treated on scene for cardiac atrial fibrillation and subsequently transported via an Air Idaho helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
The woman and her husband were hiking the Hermitage Point trail near Colter Bay around 5:30 p.m. when she began to experience apparent heart problems. Her husband hiked approximately three miles to the Colter Bay Ranch House restaurant to seek help.
Two teams with park paramedics set out from separate trailheads to quickly reach the woman, who was several miles out on the east side of the Hermitage Point trail.
While that rescue operation was in progress, a second emergency call came in to Teton Interagency Dispatch Center for a person experiencing difficulty breathing at the Colter Bay cabin office.
Some of those responding to the initial call diverted to the second medical incident, which turned out to be a person suffering from anaphylactic shock. That patient was transported to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson via park ambulance.
There have been a total of 42 search and rescue operations conducted in Grand Teton National Park so far this year, with 27 of those incurring costs greater than $500.