Helipad at new UHS Wilson Main Tower plays key role in fast trauma care

A critical component of UHS’ ability to provide top-quality trauma care to the Southern Tier community is the new helipad atop Wilson Main Tower at UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City.

While the Wilson Main Tower opened recently on June 26, the team experienced another milestone when the first Life Flight landed on the new helipad on the evening of June 27.

The helipad is now connected to the tower’s Emergency & Trauma Center on the first floor by a speedy, dedicated elevator that expedites transport time from the previous location. With this first landing, the UHS team is now able to enhance the patient experience at UHS Wilson Medical Center, a state-designated Level II adult trauma center.

Scott Gurney, NREMTP, program manager of EMS/Life-Flight Operations at UHS, described many of the amazing features the new helipad comes equipped with:

• A snow-ice melting system that keeps the pad around 45 degrees Fahrenheit, with a freezing point of -40 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• A remote-controlled system of green border lights, plus walking lights for visibility at night.
• An airport beacon, obstruction lights, perimeter lights and a windsock.  Lights can be regulated from the helipad lobby or by an incoming copter.
• The pad painted with anti-skid paint to provide traction for people walking around the pad.
• In the unlikely event of a rooftop fire, the structure comes complete with a built-in fire-suppression system with a 150-gallon tank of foam that would flow for 15 minutes after activation with a 3% foam mixture to give time for the fire department to arrive and take over.

Some patients are brought to the hospital for care as the result of a traumatic injury or illness, often from remote areas or other environments and circumstances where ambulance transportation isn’t feasible. Many hospital-to-hospital transports occur as well.

The UHS Wilson Medical Center helipad sees between 125 and 150 inbound and outbound flights each year.

Also at UHS, both UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Chenango County and UHS Delaware Valley Hospital in Delaware County have ground-level heliports.

The Wilson Main Tower covers 183,375 square feet and serves as the new “front door” to UHS services.  In addition to the new helipad and ED, it features an on-site, inpatient MRI suite and 120 private patient rooms with private bathrooms, ushering in a new era in healthcare for the Southern Tier.