UHS Chenango Memorial making air medical transport faster
NORWICH – UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich is taking steps to radically reduce the time it takes to transport patients to intensive care centers outside the area.
In November, Dr. Peter Gordon, head of Emergency Services at Chenango Memorial Hospital, spoke with city officials about a proposal to allow medical helicopters to fly in and out of the city. According to Gordon, designation of a helipad on the west side of UHS Chenango Memorial on Broad Street would create an opportunity for just that.
“We are a small rural hospital with limited resources and we’re relatively isolated from larger care centers,” Gordon explained. “We live right at an edge where the extra time it takes to transport patients in need of intensive care on the ground doesn’t benefit anyone.”
Patients who need to be airlifted from UHS Chenango Memorial are currently transported via ambulance to the Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport, approximately two miles north of the hospital. But despite the relatively short drive, the process of actually getting patients in the air perilously more complex. EMS workers are required to make two trips between the hospital and the airport; one trip for medical crew and equipment, and another for the patient.
“It’s about a six to ten minute drive back and forth,” said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, also mentioning that time added up between the two trips is critical. “It causes a huge delay in getting them out of there and a child in need of pediatric care can go downhill fast.”
“It’s a very burdensome process and unfortunately, it cuts down significantly on the benefit of having them airlifted,” Gordon added.
Chenango Memorial encounters one or two pediatric cases each month that would benefit from air transport, Gordon went on. Expectations are that an emergency helicopter would be needed only during those few instances. “If we have a critically injured child, the closest pediatric intensive care unit is in Syracuse, 80 minutes by ground and only 20 minutes by air,” he said.
UHS Chenango Memorial has been working closely with LifeNet of New York, an air medical transportation service with helicopters based at the nearby Sidney airport, to establish a helipad on the grounds of the hospital. Hospital employees have also sought approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Work needed to create a landing space for a helicopter at the hospital is minimal – so minimal, there’s no need for an environmental impact study. Plans are to have the landing area in an underutilized section of the hospital’s back entrance parking lot. “For us, it’s only a matter of removing a few light poles,” said Gordon. “It’s a simple process.”
As for residents living near the landing zone, “They have been very supportive,” said Gordon. “I have spoken to many resident in the area and I’ve been very relieved by the number of people who have been supportive ... Many of them realize how important this is for immediate transport of someone in need of special intensive care.”
UHS Chenango Memorial plans to host a community forum for residents on Jan. 21 with Dr. Gordon, Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, the Chenango County emergency medical services coordinator, and the regional manager of LifeNet of New York.
In November, Dr. Peter Gordon, head of Emergency Services at Chenango Memorial Hospital, spoke with city officials about a proposal to allow medical helicopters to fly in and out of the city. According to Gordon, designation of a helipad on the west side of UHS Chenango Memorial on Broad Street would create an opportunity for just that.
“We are a small rural hospital with limited resources and we’re relatively isolated from larger care centers,” Gordon explained. “We live right at an edge where the extra time it takes to transport patients in need of intensive care on the ground doesn’t benefit anyone.”
Patients who need to be airlifted from UHS Chenango Memorial are currently transported via ambulance to the Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport, approximately two miles north of the hospital. But despite the relatively short drive, the process of actually getting patients in the air perilously more complex. EMS workers are required to make two trips between the hospital and the airport; one trip for medical crew and equipment, and another for the patient.
“It’s about a six to ten minute drive back and forth,” said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, also mentioning that time added up between the two trips is critical. “It causes a huge delay in getting them out of there and a child in need of pediatric care can go downhill fast.”
“It’s a very burdensome process and unfortunately, it cuts down significantly on the benefit of having them airlifted,” Gordon added.
Chenango Memorial encounters one or two pediatric cases each month that would benefit from air transport, Gordon went on. Expectations are that an emergency helicopter would be needed only during those few instances. “If we have a critically injured child, the closest pediatric intensive care unit is in Syracuse, 80 minutes by ground and only 20 minutes by air,” he said.
UHS Chenango Memorial has been working closely with LifeNet of New York, an air medical transportation service with helicopters based at the nearby Sidney airport, to establish a helipad on the grounds of the hospital. Hospital employees have also sought approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Work needed to create a landing space for a helicopter at the hospital is minimal – so minimal, there’s no need for an environmental impact study. Plans are to have the landing area in an underutilized section of the hospital’s back entrance parking lot. “For us, it’s only a matter of removing a few light poles,” said Gordon. “It’s a simple process.”
As for residents living near the landing zone, “They have been very supportive,” said Gordon. “I have spoken to many resident in the area and I’ve been very relieved by the number of people who have been supportive ... Many of them realize how important this is for immediate transport of someone in need of special intensive care.”
UHS Chenango Memorial plans to host a community forum for residents on Jan. 21 with Dr. Gordon, Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, the Chenango County emergency medical services coordinator, and the regional manager of LifeNet of New York.
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