WEYBURN – A helipad proposed to be located at the new Weyburn Hospital, currently under construction on Fifth Avenue North, is going to make a big difference for the patients who require evacuation by the STARS air ambulance.
An open house about the helipad was held on Tuesday evening at the Credit Union Spark Centre, with representatives from SaskBuilds, Wright Construction, the Weyburn Hospital Foundation and STARS air ambulance all in attendance to provide information to residents.
The helipad will be located just northwest of the hospital building, and will be 35 meters in diameter, including a safety zone around where the STARS helicopter will land. The pad is 60m from the hospital building, and 200m north of Fifth Avenue.
According to its current design, a ground ambulance would come in off Fifth Avenue and go to the ER doors on the northwest side of the building, the nearest point to where the landing pad for the helicopter will be.
Currently, the STARS helicopter has to land out at the airport at North Weyburn, which is a minimum 20 to 30-minute delay for a patient to be transferred out from the hospital via ground ambulance, depending on what care the patient needs.
Greg Chorney, a pilot for the STARS helicopter based out of Regina, said having the heliport near the hospital would make a huge difference, especially if it’s a cardiac patient or someone who’s had a stroke. There is a “golden hour” where treatment is critical, and being able to lift off from near the hospital can be the difference between life and death.
He noted he can make the Regina General Hospital within 20 minutes, so if a patient can be loaded on right away, he can get critical treatment very soon, much quicker than by transferring the patient out to North Weyburn.
Night flying is also possible as they use military-grade infrared goggles to fly, and the helipad can be remotely lit up by the pilot as they approach, said Chorney.
The helipad is rated as H2 and H3, on a scale that indicates how restrictive flying in and out of the zone where the pad is located.
H1 is the most restrictive, while H2 is a rating for a twin-engined helicopter. The rating is set in the case of an engine failure in the helicopter, and the flight path that it can take or to land in an emergency if needed.
H3 is the least restrictive, and can be used by a single-engine helicopter.
Chorney said STARS makes about 20 trips to Weyburn on average, but a given year can be less or much more than that, depending on the circumstances. The most recent landing at the Weyburn airport was on Saturday.
The hospital is currently under construction and is slated for completion by 2025.
