Oilfields General Hospital in Black Diamond is set to receive upgrades to its helipad following an announcement made by Alberta Health Services on June 11.
“No matter where you live in the province, it’s important that your health-care needs can be met as close to home as possible,” said Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro in a press release from AHS.
“This project helps make that a reality, and is part of our commitment to manage and improve health infrastructure and services across Alberta.”
Since medevac services such as STARS Air Ambulance have been unable to land at the hospital’s aging heliport, concerns were raised by Black Diamond town council.
Design for the helipad has been started, the press release stated, and construction is expected to start in coming months.
Black Diamond mayor Ruth Goodwin said in an interview she was pleased to learn of the planned upgrades.
“I’m very happy to hear that the Minister of Health is supporting a new helipad for the Oilfields General Hospital,” Goodwin said. “We have one of the busiest helipads in the region, and I appreciate the fact that Alberta Health Services recognizes that.
“I think it’s incredibly important that we have this up and running sooner rather than later.”
In the meantime, the Black Diamond Fire Department has been using an alternate temporary landing zone on private land at the corner of Highway 22 and 418 Ave. W near the hospital for STARS, and will continue to do so while construction is underway.
The workaround has proven sufficient in the meantime Fire Chief Jamie Campbell said, adding the fire department is well-versed in safely landing medevac helicopters away from heliports.
“We just treat it like any other landing zone, we adjusted,” Campbell said. “It’s no different than if we went to a call like an accident on the highway.
“We get a heads up because these are usually facility transfers or rendezvous, so we have lots of lead time and we set up the landing zone and help out where we can.”
The temporary landing zone will also undergo improvements to ensure aircraft and public safety standards are met, the press release stated, including the installation of landing mats provided by a local construction company and fencing to keep livestock away.
The expected upgrades will open the heliport back up for medical airlifts, which was good news to Mike Lamacchia, chief operating officer, provincial operations at STARS, who was also pleased to see help from the community to bolster the temporary landing area.
"STARS was built for the community, by the community and this grassroots initiative to support a temporary landing area shows that spirit is alive and well in Black Diamond,” Lamacchia said in a June 11 statement.
“Also, this $1 million investment to enhance the helipad will ensure STARS can be there for the next patient who needs our help.”
The matter came to the attention of Black Diamond council at a June 3 meeting during an unrelated presentation by a STARS representative regarding upcoming sales of their fundraiser calendar.
Councillors voted later in the meeting to draft a letter to MLA RJ Sigurdson and Shandro asking them to advocate for a new helipad.
Coun. Ted Bain, who initially raised the matter during the meeting, said the hospital’s airlift capacity was crucial.
“It’s a vital service. The hospital is a lifeblood of the area,” Bain said in a previous interview following the meeting, adding the distance to urban centres made the helipad issue concerning.
“The hospital services quite a bit of geographic area, and any time you need to go from the Oilfields Hospital to a major trauma centre or better equipped hospital, it’s at least a three quarter hour drive.
“Everything we can do to help the people of this area get better.”
Following the announcement, Bain was relieved to hear a solution was coming.
“It’s just incredibly fantastic news,” he said. “The community is already well served by the hospital and this will just improve service for the entire area.”
Sigurdson, who had been present at the council meeting when the issue was raised, vouched his support for a new helipad.
“I am pleased to have these funds going into the rural health system,” Sigurdson said in the AHS statement. “Investments like these in rural Alberta play an important part in ensuring Albertans have access to health-care facilities that are safe and secure.”
