Despite noise concerns, helipad will open Oct. 13

By: Thomas Danner

Posted: 10/9/08

In efforts to increase efficient transportation between Union Memorial Hospital (UMH) and other hospitals in the area, UMH will open its new helipad next Monday.

The helipad will be located atop the roof of the Johnston Professional Building, across the street from several campus housing developments.

Despite community concerns that were raised by the Charles Village Civic Association last spring, the construction of the helipad seems to have caused limited disturbance to residents of Charles Village.

"The University has not found issue with the development of the helipad, nor have we received any student complaints," Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Hopkins Dennis O'Shea said.

According to Debra Schindler, public relations representative for UMH, the hospital ran a test flight on Sept. 24, in part to determine the noise level and its effect on neighboring residents.

Schindler said that the noise from the test flight was significantly quieter than an average ambulance siren.

"The sound is less than a minute-long event where the noise is at its peak. It's not worse than a police siren on the ground," she said.

UMH hired an independent company, Russell Acoustics LLC, to measure sound levels during the flyover. The company found Schindler's assessment to be correct.

The helicopter has one primary flight path and two alternate flight paths. The primary path is down 33rd Street, east of the University. The alternate paths run down University Parkway, on the north side of campus, and up Calvert Street, on the east side.

None of the three routes pass over the Homewood campus or the University housing on Charles Street.

"I hope that [residents] would have determined on their own that the flights are quiet, quick and that they're not going to be quite the big events that some people thought they would be," Schindler said.

Despite some opposition, Schindler felt that the community as a whole had been supportive of the hospital's decision to go ahead with construction.

The apparent leader of this opposition, Dana Moore, president of the Charles Village Civic Association, could not be reached for comment.

Dr. John C. Wang, chief of the Heart Institute's Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, said he believes that the helipad will be vitally important to patients.

"[Having a helipad] can mean the difference literally between life and death," he stated. Flights will begin on Monday.

The helipad will be a long overdue addition to help improve the level of patient care, according to Schindler.

"We're one of five full-service cardiac hospitals in the state, and we were the only one that didn't have a helipad, which limited a patient's access to our hospital," she said.

UMH is home to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Heart Institute, the only top-100 cardiovascular hospital in the Baltimore region, and the Curtis National Hand Center, the largest of its kind in the nation.

The new helicopter pad was constructed specifically to serve cardiac and hand trauma patients.

Schindler noted that many patients will not be from the surrounding area but will fly in from out of state.

Previously, patients had to be transported to UMH by ambulance, a ride that took 20 to 30 minutes. The helipad will drastically reduce this transit time.

Schindler predicted that the volume of cases would remain low, estimating about three hand traumas per month and one to five cardiovascular cases per week.

She also noted that the addition of a helipad was not a precursor to future expansion.

"We have no desire or intention to turn into a trauma center," Schindler said.

Last year's construction approval on March 21 came with a clause stating that usage of the helipad for shock trauma cases "would require Mayor and City Council approval."

According to a hospital press release, new cardiac physicians have been hired to provide care for the extra cases that the helipad will bring to the hospital.

"The estimated number of flights reflects these new physicians," the release noted.

While helicopter accidents at hospitals are relatively rare, Schindler emphasized that UMH was observing all required FAA safety precautions. The helicopter will neither be fueled nor stored on the roof. She emphasized that the helipad would pose very low risk for accidents.

Ten students from Charles Commons and Wolman Hall did not report hearing any construction or helicopter noise coming from UMH. Most students felt that the helipad would not prove bothersome.

Lauren Villa, a sophomore living in Charles Commons, said she thought that the helipad would not add much to the current noise level.

"We live in a very busy area," she said. "I don't think the addition of a helicopter would have any effect on the level of noise for me."

Mara Roberts, a senior living in off-campus housing, echoed Villa's statement.

"I feel like a police car or an ambulance is a lot louder because it's at street level, and they're always driving by here," Roberts said.

Freshman Ramya Krishnan said she felt that the new helipad would be beneficial to UMH and its patients.

"I think the helicopter's really useful because it allows access to accidents and things that you probably wouldn't be able to get to as fast as with an ambulance," she said. "Obviously there are a lot of alarms around here that make much more noise than a helicopter over at the hospital would."