Certified helipad allows STARS helicopter landings at Cypress Regional Hospital
The opening of a certified helipad at the Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current will ensure the rapid transfer of patients in life-threatening situations by a Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) helicopter.
The grand opening of the new helipad took place at the hospital, Feb. 8. The event started with a ribbon cutting on the landing site and thereafter dignitaries spoke during a formal program in the hospital's lobby.
Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said the new certified helipad is an important addition to the helicopter air medical program.
“Swift Current's helipad provides STARS with direct access to the Cypress Regional Hospital, allowing rapid transportation and transfer of patients in life-threatening situations,” he mentioned. “Simply put, landing directly at the hospital saves precious time and saves lives when every second counts.”
The Saskatchewan government provided $342,000 for the construction of the new helipad. There are already five other certified helipads in the province at the Regina General Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital in Estevan, Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital in Moose Jaw, Lloydminster Hospital, and a temporary site at Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital, where a rooftop helipad is being built as part of the construction of the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital.
Ottenbreit noted that the provincial government will continue to work with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), STARS and communities to assess future helipad construction based on patient and service needs.
“With the helicopter air medical program, Saskatchewan continues to improve access to emergency medical services,” he said. “This service, along with the province's fixed-wing air ambulance program and other EMS is an essential part of the total patient care system in the province.”
Bonnie Fortin was a STARS patient in August 2013, when she was transferred from Cypress Regional Hospital to Regina. She spoke at the grand opening about the importance of this service.
There were complications during her cesarean surgery, and she required specialized care and equipment that were not available in Swift Current.
“It's quite simply about time and getting to where they could provide the care you need and having a better chance of survival,” she said. “I stand up here alive and well. I definitely have a different perspective on my life, but my story has a happy ending. ... I would have never survived the two and a half hour ground trip in an ambulance to a specialist. I'm certain I would have died. Five years ago I left from this parking lot and I'm so grateful that today I can witness the completion of the helipad.”
According to STARS Director of Provincial Operations Cindy Siedl their helicopters have responded to over 5,000 emergencies in more than 500 communities across Saskatchewan since STARS established operations in the province in 2012.
“Helipads are an important part of helicopter EMS systems and our crews are pleased at the efficiencies we're able to gain now that we can land directly at the Cypress Regional Hospital on a certified helipad and we've already used it for a mission,” she said.
The first landing on the new helipad took place on Jan. 28. From 2012 to 2015 the STARS helicopters made controlled landings at the north staff entrance road with assistance from the Swift Current Fire Department.
From 2015 to 2017 the landings took place at the parking lot on the hospital's east side near the ambulance garage and emergency department, and the fire department continued to provide assistance to control the landing area.
STARS and Transport Canada informed the former Cypress Health Region in 2017 that this location could not be used anymore due to an increase in housing and building construction in the vicinity, and from October 2017 the helicopters landed at the Swift Current Airport. Patients therefore had to be transported for 10 kilometres by road ambulance.
A landing spot at the Cypress Regional Hospital required certification by Transport Canada as an urban landing area. Funding for the helipad was secured in 2018 and a consultant was used to provide design and certification assistance. Construction started last fall and was completed in November 2018. Transport Canada issued the certification of the helipad in early January 2019.
There were 39 STARS landings last year at Swift Current and since 2012 there were were 205 STARS flights from this area.
SHA Physician Executive for Integrated Rural Health Dr. Kevin Wasko said the certified helipad is a great addition at the hospital. It will help to improve time to care for critically ill patients that require air transfer to tertiary centres in Regina or Saskatoon.
“Our goal in the Saskatchewan Health Authority is a seamless health system that delivers high quality care, regardless of where you live in Saskatchewan,” he mentioned.
Patients who need air transfer to tertiary centres are in serious condition and they need to get into the helicopter as fast as possible.
“What we had been doing due to transport regulations was having to take patients out by ambulance to the airport and then STARS meeting us, which just makes us lose precious moments that we need,” he said. “So the fact that STARS can come directly to the hospital, roll right into our ambulance bay and to be able to help us to stabilize the patient that much sooner means so much in those times when moments really do matter.”
It was a far from ideal situation to have to transfer patients from the hospital to a road ambulance for the trip to the airport, and then transfer them again into a helicopter. The new helipad is located directly adjacent to the hospital's ambulance garage and emergency department.
“Obviously if a patient is in a state that requires them to be transferred out to tertiary, they're not in a state that would be amenable to multiple transfers, which is essentially what was happening,” he said. “This way they're rolled out the door into the helicopter and they take off. So all of those transfers mean time, but they also mean disruption for the patient.”
STARS helicopters will use a certified flight path when they land at the new helipad. SHA staff will secure the area for landings and takeoffs. The helipad is fenced and onlookers have to keep a safe distance from the area, because a helicopter creates significant noise and air turbulence.