Richard Dickson was excited, but nervous, Thursday morning.
The St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Manager of Emergency Services watched as his crew prepared for a test run with Airlift Northwest.
At 8:30 a.m., the skies were gray and the neon orange windsock on the top of the newly-erected three-story building north of downtown Enumclaw was gently blowing in the breeze.
Hospital staff members and stake holders and emergency medical personnel lined the sidewalks waiting in anticipation as right on schedule the helicopter flew in and gently rested on the roof.
“It went very smooth,” Dickson said after the rehearsal. “I was quite comfortable with it. I think the landing went smooth as punch.”
“I’m tickled pink we have such a great glide path coming in,” Dickson said, also pointing out the pilot thought he could land from three different directions.
Dickson isn’t the only one excited about the helipad on the hospital roof.
“It’s going to be a huge positive for the hospital and community out there,” said Jeff Richey, Airlift Northwest regional manager. “It will save us time for cardiac patients and stoke patients.”
About 30 times a year, Richey said, Airlift Northwest lands at Enumclaw Regional Hospital. Most of those patients are suffering a stroke or cardiac arrest and need to be whisked to either St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma or Harborview Medical Center in Seattle within 90 minutes.
Landing a helicopter at the former area at Garrett Park or more recently neighboring Helac property, meant using an ambulance to cover the distance in between. Dickson said the process could take 23 to 28 minutes.
Now, a patient can be rushed up the elevator from emergency department to rooftop in nearly no time.
And time is everything to those patients.
“We’re dependent on getting people out of here. We’re not a tertiary hospital,” Dickson said, which means they do not have areas of expertise like cardiology, neurology, a trauma or burn center or neonatal care.
It’s not just hospital staff who look forward to the helipad addition. Buckley Fire Chief Alan Predmore was on hand Thursday.
The Buckley Fire Department utilizes Airlift Northwest’s services for accidents at Crystal Mountain and Greenwater. Due to weather, getting a helicopter in and out of there is often tricky.
“Sometimes as close as they can get is Enumclaw,” he said, which presents its own problems in securing a field or other landing area. Having the option to meet the airlift crew at the hospital is a bonus.
“It gives us flexibility,” Predmore said.
Airlift Northwest, which flies two care nurses at all times and has neonatal transportation capabilities, is often in this area transporting accident victims directly to trauma centers or newborns who need immediate care to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.
“There are plenty of landing zones we can get to in South King County, but we like options,” Richey said.
“We’re really excited to have this at St. Elizabeth,” he said.
