New helipad will make MedFlight transfers faster and safer
| For Immediate Release | Contact: Joyce Faria Brennan |
| June 29, 2005 | 508-961-5270 |
| brennanj@southcoast.org | |
 Get this release in Word format |
|
| |
| From left, Nancy Edwards, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Services at Tobey Hospital; John B. Day, President & CEO of Southcoast Health System; Dick and Anne Webb of Marion, and general surgeon Rayford Kruger, MD, unveil plaque at the new Tobey Hospital helipad. | |
"This day not only marks the final completion of the Tobey construction project, it marks one more step in making the best possible health care available to the people of the Greater Wareham area," said John B. Day, President & CEO of Southcoast Health System. "With the construction of this helipad on Tobey grounds, patients who need to be transported from the hospital will have critical minutes cut off their transport time."
Before the construction of the helipad, ambulances would meet Boston MedFlight helicopters at Golf Shots Range and Learning Center on Sandwich Road in Wareham. This was inconvenient and, at times, dangerous if debris was on the range. The new helipad is quick, safe and one step closer to providing the immediate and critical services the patients of Greater Wareham deserve.
"This new helipad makes transport faster and safer for both patients and the helicopter crew," said Nancy Edwards, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Services at Tobey. "Having a designated, specially-designed area, with FAA-approved lighting and a way to control debris in the landing area, improves conditions for everyone involved."
In 2004, 65 patients were transported via helicopter from Tobey Hospital. A helicopter flight from Tobey Hospital to a Boston hospital takes 17 minutes compared to an ambulance ride of at least an hour or more. Transport time from the driving range, generally took five to 10 minutes via ambulance. The Wareham Fire Department is on site for all landings for safety purposes. Police are also put on alert.
"After a severe injury, the human body can usually compensate up to one hour. This is known as the Ôgolden hour,'" said Robert Quirk, RN, Clinical Manager of the Tobey Emergency Department. "Providing swift, life-saving care within that hour is our 'golden rule' — a rule our patients live by. Reducing transport time, even by just a few minutes, can be crucial for a patient."
The cement helipad measures 50 feet square and is located on an approximately 125- by 150-foot fenced area. Screening to prevent debris from scattering onto adjacent property backs the fence.
"The helipad is fully marked, lighted and identified as a hospital landing pad," said Antonio Pacheco, Facilities Director at Tobey. "The helipad's lighting and wind sock can be lit remotely by MedFlight pilots when they are as far as five miles from the site. The lights can also be turned off remotely or will turn off automatically."
The wind sock helps pilots determine the direction of wind currents during landing.
In preparation for the landing pad, a 100 by 100 foot area of land had to be graded and compacted to ensure it could bear the weight of landing helicopters without settling. The site was engineered by Charles Rowley Associates of Wareham.
"Having a helipad right at the hospital saves time, money and resources," said Daniel Thomas, EMT, Special Projects Coordinator for Boston MedFlight. "Wareham EMS, which transports patients from the hospital to the helicopter, will now be occupied for much shorter periods of time."
Thomas said another benefit of an onsite helipad is having a contact for the landing site to immediately address any issues that may arise.
"Boston MedFlight applauds Tobey Hospital's commitment to enhancing the lifeline both organizations have worked so hard to develop over the last 20 years," he said.
Boston MedFlight is a not-for-profit critical care transport service supported by a consortium of Boston teaching hospitals that transports patients from eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire to tertiary hospitals in Boston. The organization provides services to all three Southcoast hospitals.
The construction of the helipad was made possible by a donation by Anne and Dick Webb, of Marion, long-time supporters of Tobey. The Webbs were on hand for the dedication and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque acknowledging their generosity.
"We are extremely grateful to Anne and Dick Webb who made the construction of the helipad possible," Day said. "Their generosity will help us save lives for many years to come."
"When we were thinking about our gift to the Tobey Campaign, we remembered seeing the MedFlight helicopter landing at the driving range," said Anne Webb. "We thought that if it were feasible to have a heliport constructed on the grounds of Tobey it would be much more convenient for patients."
The helipad has been approved for use by the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission and the U.S. Federal Aeronautics Association, who recently landed its own helicopter on the pad and completed a site inspection.
To find out more visit www.southcoast.org/tobey/.
About Southcoast
Southcoast Health System, a not-for-profit charitable organization, is a community based health delivery system with multiple access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes Southcoast Hospitals Group, formed in 1996 from the merger of Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.
Southcoast is one of three community hospitals approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to perform open heart surgery and primary angioplasty beginning in Spring 2002.
Media Contact
Joyce Faria Brennan
Phone: 508-961-5270
Pager: 508-387-9605
Fax: 508-961-5876
brennanj@southcoast.org
