By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
Staff Columnist
YORK —
A new helipad is up and operational at York Hospital.The $150,000 recently completed project at the end of Williams Avenue adjacent to the hospital parking area provides a safer and more convenient operations area when helicopter evacuation is necessary for a hospital patient.
“Because minutes can make the difference in their recovery, having a dedicated helipad for emergency transport is essential” to some patients, Jud Knox, hospital president said after a Maine LifeFlight Helicopter landed on the pad late last week.
The hospital has been using LifeFlight for patient transfer for some time. There are helicopters based in Lewiston and Bangor that can be in York between 20 and 30 minutes after being called. The exact number of flights from York isn’t known but the number has increased since the inception of the TeleStroke program in cooperation with Massachusetts General Hospital.
York Hospital utilizes helicopter air medical transport services to transfer seriously ill or injured patients from the hospital when necessary. The hospital provides advanced care for most situations but the need for air transports proves vital.
As an example, Knox said: “When a patient arrives at York Hospital presenting symptoms of stroke it is imperative that we act quickly and decisively. Our neurologists and ER physicians often confer with stroke specialists from Massachusetts General Hospital through our TeleStroke program. If a patient needs highly specialized stroke treatment that is not available at York Hospital, we immediately transfer the patient.”
Patients are also transferred for specialized care in other situations as well. Some are taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Last week’s landing of the Italian - built Agusta 109 simulated the landing to pick up a patient. Once it was on the ground and shut down, there was an orientation and demonstrations for York Hospital staff.
Barbara Green, an emergency room nurse, said it is important that ER staff “does everything we can for the patient before they get here” and LifeFlight is very helpful in providing guidance in that area.
Two-thirds of the cost of the new helipad was paid for by a grant from LifeFlight Foundation. “We need to give them credit,” Knox said. “We thank the LifeFlight Foundation for their support.”
The old helipad was located in the hospital’s parking lot and required moving 30 to 50 cars when a flight was needed. There are 17 spaces at the new location, which will make removal much faster if those spaces are in use, a hospital spokesperson said.
York Hospital is a not-for-profit 79-bed hospital located on the southern coast of Maine. It is a modern facility with medical/surgical units, an emergency care center, extensive inpatient and outpatient services and many year-round community programs.
York Hospital recently kicked off the For Every Patient Campaign to renovate and expand the Surgical Center, renovate and privatize patient rooms, and build a dedicated helipad for emergency patient transport.
The LifeFlight Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that provides fundraising and public relations support to LifeFlight of Maine.
The Foundation is supported by the generosity of the many friends of LifeFlight, raising funds for statewide aviation improvements, aircraft, helipads, and the many training outreach programs offered by LifeFlight staff include trauma and critical care, brain injury, ground safety, cardiac care and injury prevention programs at elementary schools.
For more information about the services offered by York Hospital, please visit their website at www.yorkhospital.com or call the Friendraising Office at (207) 351-2385.
Photo caption: The new helipad, a $150,000 project at York Hospital, is now up and running. (Weekly Sentinel photo)
