“After some months, construction on our Medical Center’s new helipad is finished, and flight operations began at 8:00 a.m. Friday, October 3rd,” said John Tremble, SCRMC’s CFO. Life Link III Senior Captain, Chris Kruse, who piloted the first flight and landing on the new helipad, was very pleased, telling Tremble that "this is the best pad we'll be landing at." The Medical Center has over 80 helicopter transports a year.
“Having a helipad right at the hospital will reduce transport time for critically ill patients who require the services of a trauma or heart center and for whom every minute counts,” Tremble continued. “We expect to save 10-15 transport minutes by no longer having to move patients to our former ground-based pad at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church.
“When a person is having a heart attack,” said SCRMC Cardiologist, Dr. Glenn Nickele, “literally every minute counts because the risk of death and major complications can be significantly reduced if no more than 90 minutes passes from a patient's home or local hospital ER to a cardiology center like Regions Hospital where an artery blockage can be cleared. Time saved with this new helipad will literally make a dramatic difference for patients.”
The Medical Center is also currently working with the Unity Ambulance EMTs to implement a system that would save even more precious minutes. “EMT staff would do an EKG for a patient in the ambulance and fax it to the Medical Center to be read by a physician,” explained Mary Erickson, RN, Nursing Director. If a heart attack was indeed in progress, staff would call immediately for helicopter transport. “As a result,” Erickson continued, “the helicopter would very close or already at SCRMC when the patient arrived at the hospital.”
Two very generous grants helped make this life-saving helipad a reality. The Medical Center received a $250,000 grant from the Hardenbergh Foundation of North Oaks, Minnesota. According to Jeff Peterson, the Foundation’s Executive Director, the grant was given “based on the extraordinary need and the special service the construction of the helipad will bring to the community.” SCRMC also received a $1 million grant from the Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation to aid in helipad construction and other projects at the Lloyd Olson Surgery Center.
Air “ambulance” Life Link III making its first landing on St. Croix Regional Medical Center’s just completed roof-top helipad.
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