Heliport essential to hospital mission
Having a heliport is an essential part of our ability to fulfill our mission of caring for the region's children. The heliport at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital will be used to receive critically ill and injured children who cannot be transported by ground transportation without threat to the life or condition of the patient, and for organ transplantation that is time-critical. In operating a heliport, our guiding principle is the safety of the patient, transport team, pilot, flight crew and everyone on the ground.
Approvals and support
Chicago's Plan Commission, Zoning Committee and full City Council approved plans for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, including the building of a rooftop heliport, in late 2007 and early 2008.
Following City approval for the heliport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are required to authorize heliport operations in Illinois after a formal independent review by each agency.
On August 18, 2008, the FAA issued a determination that heliport operations can be conducted safely at the new heliport. On September 15, 2008, the IDOT published a notice of intent to enter an Order on or after October 6, 2008 approving the use of the new heliport.
We also have received 10,000 support letters for the new hospital and the lifesaving rooftop heliport from Streeterville and adjacent communities.
Safety is our top priority
- For more than 20 years, Children’s Memorial has operated a
similar heliport at our Lincoln Park campus. Approximately 73 children
and 4-6 organs are transported by helicopter to Children's Memorial
annually.
- For about half of the children transported by
helicopter, two flights are required. The first flight is used to pick
up a medical transport team and equipment from the hospital. The second
flight returns with the child and the transport team. Historically, at
least 70 percent of flights occur between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
- The proposed rooftop heliport has been comprehensively planned with safety as the top priority. In planning for the heliport, Children's Memorial retained a team of five expert organizations with specific specialties: Landrum & Brown, aviation consultancy; Thomas E. Salaman, Federal Aviation specialist; Barry Technologies Inc., sound and noise technology; Vertical Aeronautics International, heliport construction consulting; and RWDI Group, wind consulting and analysis.
- In July 2007, the following analyses were completed:
- Safety studies, including flight path analysis and Homeland Security review;
- Noise monitoring studies, including the results from an actual helicopter flight to the site in mid-late May;
- Wind data analysis, including results from one month of data from weather stations on top of Prentice and the American Dental Association.
- In spring/summer 2008, additional wind studies were conducted which corroborated the findings of the initial wind studies.
- The new heliport will be 56% larger than our current heliport at the Lincoln Park campus to allow pilots more space to land. This additional space will make it the largest elevated heliport landing pad in Illinois.
- Each helicopter's landing and take-off is dependent on weather conditions. If it is not safe, helicopter transport is not an option. The new heliport will include a state-of-the-art weather station to provide "real time" wind and weather updates to the pilot in flight. Our heliport will be the first hospital in Illinois to use this equipment.
We have been providing quarterly helicopter reports to neighbors and community leaders in Lincoln Park since our heliport was built. These reports detail (within HIPAA guidelines) when and why each transport was necessary. We plan to provide similar reports to our future neighbors in Streeterville.