Reply With QuoteYes you did. Now, you can proudly shout from that roof top heloport
"Neener! Neener! Neener!"
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/212334.html
Some residents who live near Women and Children’s Hospital claim they don’t have to rent “Top Gun” at their neighborhood video store to watch daring aviators.
On some days, they say, they only have to peer out their windows or step on their porches.
The hospital opened its rooftop helipad about two years ago, capping a dozen years of fierce debate and courtroom duels. Many neighborhood residents — even some who supported the hospital’s initial plan — claim pilots have been operating in an unsafe manner.
At times, the medical helicopters have come dangerously close to the roofs of nearby homes, said William L. Sunderlin, who lives on Bryant Street.
Sunderlin is president of the Bryant- Oakland-Summer Association, a group that backed Women & Children’s initial helipad proposal.
“But they’ve been abusing that privilege,” Sunderlin said Wednesday.
He cited numerous problems, saying established flight paths are being ignored and the number of flights has far exceeded the hospital’s predictions. Neighbors, he said, had been told that flights probably would not number more than 200 a year. But on some days, helicopters arrive and depart up to 10 times.
“And then there are some ‘Top Gun’ pilots,” Sunderlin said.
“We apparently have a couple Tom Cruises out there,” added Common Council Majority Leader Dominic J. Bonifacio Jr., referring to the actor who portrayed the daredevil Navy pilot in the 1986 film.
As I wrote in an OP ED piece in the Buffalo News in June 2003 (!)
Recently an aircraft operated by Mercy Flight
crashed in Hamburg, NY. This brings to light some
facts that cannot be argued. One, gravity works. Two,
machines fail. This is why airports are out of the
center of cities, why my mechanic makes as much as my
Nurse Practitioner, and why the Buffalo City Council
should revisit the topic of allowing Mercy Flight to
land and take off from the roof of Women's and
Children's Hospital. It is simply too dangerous an
activity to permit, especially with the specter of
several hundred gallons of jet fuel brought into the
mix of noise and falling aluminum when (not if, when)
something goes wrong. Having spent several years in
Emergency Medical Services, including 8 years working
for La Salle Ambulance and Rural Metro Ambulance, both
owned by Douglas Baker (the current President of Mercy
Flight), I can state with confidence that the service
is grossly over utilized, and given this pattern or
abuse, only a minority of transports will approach a
“life and limb” threshold of urgency. At the very
least only the most critical patients should be
allowed landing rights directly to the hospital, with
an alternate location utilized for those less
critical, but still urgent patients.
The image of a suffering child often causes one
to make an emotional decision rather that a wise and
practical one, and this simply was the case in the
recent City Council vote. Now lets fix it before the
next accident.
Simply put, I TOLD YOU SO!
The "brain trust" at Mercy Flight simply CANNOT BE TRUSTED to do the right thing unless there is SEVERE FINANCIAL INCENTIVE (positive or negative) involved. They are of dubious value in the majority of cases, over utilized in the extreme, and have become a budgetary drain that the area should not be asked to shoulder anymore.
It is clear that a civilian review board, comprised of local residents, business owners, Childrens hospital officials and independent medical consultants (physicians outside of the CHOB/Mercy Flight family) will be needed to insure that the air operations at Childrens comply with the standards that were represented to the community when Childrens hospital was foolishly (IMHO) granted the permission to use this landing zone. A performance bond should be required of the hospital and perhaps the services utilizing the heliport, and forfeitures of said bond utilized to force the pilots, doctors and employers to do the right thing.
I made a lot of money and spent most of it on booze, fast cars and loose women. I blew the rest.
Yes you did. Now, you can proudly shout from that roof top heloport
"Neener! Neener! Neener!"
First Amendment rights are like muscles, if you don't exercise them they will atrophy.
They should have moved the hospital in the first place! It would have been a lot easier for helicopters to fly in and land if the hospital were moved to the nonresidential Medical Corridor area. But nooooo...
The protests years ago to keep the hospital where it is where misguided and self serving.
Our children's health is what matters most, not property values or the succes of the nearby gift shops and restuarants.
Does anyone ever stop to think, by the way, that when one of the helicopters goes by overhead they are not DOING IT FOR FUN OR FOR THE HELL OF IT?! They are trying to save some kid's life or bringing in life and death medical supplies, etc.
Sheesh...
The special interest groups that block progress in this town in the name of some misguided, fuddy duddy ideals really piss me off.
You don't mess with kids' health...
Hate me if you will for saying that, but I personally know eight children with some medical issues whose parents would think otherwise... Oh... After they have driven back from a long trip on the thruway after they had to seek their kid's medical care elswhere... (Yeah, I'm one of them.)
SO MANY things surrounding where the hospital is located have caused nothing but problems...
I pray they move it while they can before it's too late...
And as for why that part of town relies too heavily on the hospital for its economy? Did anyone ever stop to think maybe it's because they protest everything else?
Last edited by Achbek1; November 22nd, 2007 at 04:24 PM.
I'm just here to make people laugh. And to confuse people. Oh, and to irritate people.
I said from day one that Childrens Hospital needed to move
oh now that childrens hospital wants to demolish more homes, leave more parking lots and have noisy helicopters fly in....people are unhappy
If childrens had moved into Millard Fillmore Gates...then that hospital wouldnt be closing
If childrens had moved to Buffalo General there would be no noise complaints
its the selfishness and stupidity and narrowmindedness that allowed this problem today...
if Childrens had moved to Millard Fillmore Gates then we could have saved that hospital while having wondeful apartments, offices and parking in a section of Elmwood that would have benefited greatly from its redevelopment without the demolition and noise that we are experiencing.
They would like you to believe that, but the statistics will prove otherwise. Most of the time it's just a waste of kerosene, whit a lot of noise and risk added in.Originally Posted by Achbek1
The oversold the idea, and a bunch of ignorant politicians bought off on the lies they were told. I can fly a downwind approach in a helicopter that will be quieter than a school bus. But that isn't the way it's gonna be day in and day out. And I'll wager that if Starflights UH 1 or Sikorsky ever roars in there, it will make MF's little Bokow sound like a weed whacker.
I warned you, I told you, I instructed you. You knew what to expect but you listened to Doug and Margie.
I made a lot of money and spent most of it on booze, fast cars and loose women. I blew the rest.
There will never be an end to the things that people will bitch about......
Unless the neighbors are in imminent danger, because they routinely hang out on their roofs!
Let me articulate this for you:
"I'm not locked in here with them. They're locked in here with me!!"
HipKat's Blog
Umm just to inform you Northshore, Starflight's UH-1 Huey (which is badass)and their new Lifestar chopper cannot land on the heliport at CHOB.
I happen to know this because the medic that was instrumental in the design process of the heliport, It was designed only too accept MercyFlight's birds. I was also told by the StarFlight Flight Medic and Flight RN that they aren't approved to land on the rooftop helipad.
That's why we still pick them up at either K Lot or Deaconess(yes we still use it ocassionally) and drive them over to CHOB. Why they don't reutilize Sheehan's old helipad I'll never know either? BGH is going ahead with plans for a rooftop helipad. Yeah the windiest point in the city, smart!
I also know this too since I do transports with ORNGE (Ontario Air Ambulance) and have to land at either Eurocopter Canada on Gillmore Road in Fort Erie or at Prior Aviation at the BNIA. Make sense?
While I agree with your stance and opinion about Tx's and the overuse of the air wing of EMS for BS BLS Tx's, the crybaby neighbors are just that, crybabies. The whole CHOB complex should have been moved to the Medical Campus. Yet some retards had the idea CHOB was going away forever.
You can't have your cake and eat it too! Do these liberal whinos of the "Village" realize helicopters are LOUD, they are low because they have too LAND, and to say they only promised 200 flights a year. These neighbors need to get bent.
Believe me I am no fan of CHOB, I think they have one of the most laziest ER Staffs I have ever encountered. Your kid could be having a febrile seizure and they'll be sent out to Triage in the waiting room first. Don't even get me started with the "know it" medical students that talk down to medics yet can't distinguish an ECG of A-Fib Vs V-Fib for chirstsakes.
Be advised, I'm mean nasty and tired. I eat concertina wire and piss napalm and I could put a round through a fleas ass at 300 meters. So why don't you hump somebody else's leg mutt-face before I push yours in. (Heartbreak Ridge)
Uh, yeah. That was the reason for the "if" in the statement. I wasn't sure if the pad could support the weight of a UH-1.
I happen to know this because the medic that was instrumental in the design process of the heliport, It was designed only too accept MercyFlight's birds. I was also told by the StarFlight Flight Medic and Flight RN that they aren't approved to land on the rooftop helipad.
That's why we still pick them up at either K Lot or Deaconess(yes we still use it ocassionally) and drive them over to CHOB. Why they don't reutilize Sheehan's old helipad I'll never know either?
Probably because Sheehan shut it down. They were saddled with the cost of snow removal, as well as liability and insurance, but recived no benefit from it.
BGH is going ahead with plans for a rooftop helipad. Yeah the windiest point in the city, smart!
Actually, as long as the wind is consistent in direction, it's not too big of a deal on a predominant rooftop. You can approach it from any direction that you need to in a helicopter.
I also know this too since I do transports with ORNGE (Ontario Air Ambulance) and have to land at either Eurocopter Canada on Gillmore Road in Fort Erie or at Prior Aviation at the BNIA. Make sense?
Thats their decision. If there was another published helipad, perhaps they would use it. I guess the bigger question is why we are using limited resources to go into Canada to pick up patients. Last time I was in Canada, they had ambulances. Any reason that one of their units couldn't go from AE on Gilmour Rd to Childrens or ECMC. I'll bet you have to take them back too!
While I agree with your stance and opinion about Tx's and the overuse of the air wing of EMS for BS BLS Tx's, the crybaby neighbors are just that, crybabies. The whole CHOB complex should have been moved to the Medical Campus. Yet some retards had the idea CHOB was going away forever.
You can't have your cake and eat it too! Do these liberal whinos of the "Village" realize helicopters are LOUD, they are low because they have too LAND, and to say they only promised 200 flights a year. These neighbors need to get bent.
They were sold a bill of goods all wrapped up in a bloody baby blanket. I was involved in the entire argument, and told them the entire way that they were being lied to. I would bet that they are using that pad to pick up te STAT nurse, to land the kid and to drop off any equipment later. I was there when they flew the "demonstration" flight, and it was obvious that they flew a downwind pattern with the collective tight to keep the blade noise (whop) to a minimum. I have seen them do approaches that are way too low.
No argument there.Believe me I am no fan of CHOB, I think they have one of the most laziest ER Staffs I have ever encountered. Your kid could be having a febrile seizure and they'll be sent out to Triage in the waiting room first. Don't even get me started with the "know it" medical students that talk down to medics yet can't distinguish an ECG of A-Fib Vs V-Fib for chirstsakes.
Sounds like you are saying it's the residents fault for taking Mercy Flight at their word. I was there when they said 200 flights a year on the outside, and that the approaches they witnessed were what would happen. As can be expected, Mercy Flight misrepresented their operations and their intent.
Just like I said.
I made a lot of money and spent most of it on booze, fast cars and loose women. I blew the rest.
All I ever needed to know about Mercy Flight is in their history.
The first mission MF ever flew was a take home! CHOB to Bertrand Chaffee because the traffic was bad after a Bills game.
They should have bit the bullet and put it on the top of the Variety building. At least they would be up over the houses instead of up their noses.
Last edited by Northshore; November 23rd, 2007 at 12:35 AM.
I made a lot of money and spent most of it on booze, fast cars and loose women. I blew the rest.
[QUOTE=Northshore
Having spent several years in
Emergency Medical Services, including 8 years working
for La Salle Ambulance and Rural Metro Ambulance, both
owned by Douglas Baker (the current President of Mercy
Flight), .[/QUOTE]
Just to clarify; Doug Baker does not own Rural/Metro!
Rural Metro is a national corporation based out of AZ with stocks and shareholders. Mr. Baker & his partner Margie sold their company (LaSalle Ambulance) to Rural/Metro in the mid 1990's. Rural/Metro purchased several local, private ambulance companies around the same time.
Politics is more difficult than physics
- Albert Einstein
Thanks for that on the spot report.
And Margie wasn't a partner, just an employee.
I made a lot of money and spent most of it on booze, fast cars and loose women. I blew the rest.
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