Concrete is set for the new helipad adjacent to the Lloydminster Hospital.
In April, the Lloydminster Regional Health Foundation announced the helipad project to better transport patients to the hospital. A few months into the project, the landing pad for STARS Air Ambulance is nearing completion.
CEO of LRHF Malcolm Radke says local construction workers have been working hard to get the pad completed for this fall.
“The concrete pour is now complete to cover the asphalt and if you drive by it, it looks ready to go. At this stage, they’ll start to work on some of the aesthetics get the right paint on there, get the landscaping done and then start to look for certification and approvals.”
Radke adds that they’re hopeful it will be fully operational in spring 2019, if not earlier.
The LRHF was leading the fundraising campaign for the $350,000 project, which is now complete. Husky Energy donated $50,000 to the project before it began, as well as the plot of land it is being built on. The foundation had the job of raising the rest of the costs of about $200,000.
“There was a cash fundraising component. We fundraised about $150,000 for this with three major donors, Husky Energy, the Rotary Club of Lloydminster, and just recently Boundary Ford came through for the last $50,000 that we were going to need.”
Musgrave Agencies took charge of getting construction companies to donate their time and supplies.
Radke says the biggest benefit of the helipad service is the decrease in wait times.
“If there’s an accident in a nearby rural area, including a lot of the oil field sites STARS can be on site, load them up and then take them right to our Lloydminster Hospital nearby.”
Radke adds the services will now plug the city into the network of hospitals nearby such as Saskatoon that already have helipads.