Hospital trying to reopen helipad

Drivers on Pinellas Avenue near Helen Ellis would face delays if the state approves the request.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2000

TARPON SPRINGS -- Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital wants to reopen its helicopter landing pad, which would require part of Pinellas Avenue to be shut down during takeoffs and landings.

The pad is a small parking lot on the west end of the building, facing the city-owned golf course. When helicopters are landing or taking off, Pinellas Avenue would have to be closed for about five minutes, hospital administrator Joseph Kiefer said.

The landing pad was open for many years but closed in 1996 because of construction at the hospital, Kiefer said. During that time, parts of Pinellas Avenue, also known as Alt. U.S. 19, were shut down when helicopters landed or took off.

If the Florida Department of Transportation approves the hospital's request to open the landing pad, which is near the emergency room on the side of the hospital closest to Pinellas Avenue, traffic would be stopped in both directions to make room for helicopters. Tarpon Springs police officers or hospital security would be in charge of blocking traffic, Kiefer said.

Stopping traffic is required by the FDOT for the safety of drivers, said Scott McIntyre, assistant administrator of the hospital.

"It's a precautionary measure," he said. Because of the strong drafts from the helicopter, he said, "if there's any loose debris, it would fly out toward Alt. 19."

The city has no zoning restrictions on trauma flights at Helen Ellis, said Walter Fufidio, the city's director of planning and zoning.

In a separate zoning case in Tarpon Springs, some residents near the old Anclote Manor psychiatric hospital are concerned about plans for a helicopter landing pad there. Clearwater neurologist William Hammesfahr has proposed opening a rehabilitation center in the building for victims of strokes and head injuries, and he wants a landing pad for patients who must be flown in.

In that case, city commissioners must give Hammesfahr permission to use the landing pad during specified times. At Helen Ellis, such approval is not required because trauma flights are a normal part of an emergency room's operation, Fufidio said.

Helicopters primarily would be used to transport people from Helen Ellis to hospitals that have burn units, trauma centers and other facilities, Kiefer said. The Coast Guard will continue using the golf course as its landing spot when bringing patients to Helen Ellis because its helicopters are too big for the landing pad, he said.

He expects to have approval to reopen the landing pad within 60 days. Representatives of FDOT could not be reached for comment Friday.

- Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4205 or at gazella@sptimes.com.

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