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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter for Community Development1 To: Community Development Dept. City of San Luis Obispo From: Michael J. Selby Ph.D. & Carol Nelson-Selby; Re: Proposed hospital EMS “helistop” – French Hospital on Johnson Avenue, San Luis Obispo 93401 We speak for those of us in San Luis Obispo’s historic Railroad District who are deeply concerned about the current plan to place a heliport where the hospital property abuts the eastern edge of the railroad easement using the EMS designation. That designation, while avoiding aviation agency review, is contingent upon meeting several conditions, some of which we are not certain you are aware. First, an EMS must be designated as such by an officer authorized by a public safety agency, as defined in PUC Section 21662.1, and described by the Department of Transportation as “a fire department, police department, sheriff’s department, County EMS Agency, etc.” Further, by designating the site an EMS Helicopter Landing Site, the public safety agency accepts the liability for the safety of its use. [See attached Memorandum from the Dept. of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics entitled “Information Concerning Hospital Heliports and Emergency Medical Service Landing Sites; May 1997]. According to that memo, an EMS can be used up to an average of six landings per month each year (with, of course, six departures) and the facility can only be used to transport patients with a medical emergency. Because of the local prevailing wind, any departure “surface” (path) would be toward the west. This means that right after takeoff the aircraft would be dangerously close to and over San Luis Obispo’s public housing facilities which are about 100 feet from the proposed FATO, the area where Amtrak’s popular passenger trains sit when they pull into or out of the San Luis Obispo station and where long trains of oil tank cars travel, usually at night. The closest home to the west of the helipad is only about 40 feet from the perimeter of the proposed FATO (final approach and takeoff area). Liftoff or landing are the highest- risk moments of any flight, and the risk to the many nearby residents, pilots and to patients would not be offset by the very few minutes possibly gained by not landing patients safely at the nearby airport and transporting them by ambulance (while EMTs initiate or continue care) straight to the emergency room. French Hospital is only 3.7 miles from the San Luis Obispo Airport, a very short ride of about nine minutes for civilian vehicles which cannot use lights or sirens and have to observe the speed limit and stop at red lights and would be less for an ambulance. However, due to the location of French’s emergency room at the furthest corner of the campus from the helipad, even nine minutes is only a little bit longer than it would take to transfer a patient from the helicopter pad to whatever vehicle would be used to ferry them there and then transport them to the emergency room. This means that, after creating so much risk for so many, spending all that money, and changing the living conditions for hundreds of people who live nearby, THE MOST THAT COULD BE GAINED IS MAYBE FIVE MINUTES. Is this project something San Luis Obispo needs so badly that our emergency services are willing to be responsible for the risks involved? After all, there is already a hospital heliport in town, and while I can appreciate that corporate competition could lead French to think it only “fair” that they have one too, is it right that the community should be forced to bear the burden of making the two hospitals “even”. Personally, my family has received excellent care through both local hospitals, so this is not about bias. 2 We in the area are not capable of monitoring how many flights actually occur and their necessity, and even though I have attempted to stay abreast of this, I have seen no evidence that who has this duty has even been addressed by the applicants since it was not discussed at the one public meeting we were invited to (ARC). Is there a public agency that will indemnify us in the event of any loss suffered? Does the City’s part of the plan include having the required public agency? Who will perform ongoing monitoring of its use to ensure that the service is never abused for the convenience of high-paying customers, board members or executives of the hospital corporation, or to ferry patients from related hospitals in non-emergency situations. The bottom line for you as the gate-keepers is this: would a person with a severe medical emergency be harmed by being taken to either of the existing heliports: Sierra Vista Hospital or the nearby airport instead of being landed at the corner of the French camps? The clear answer is that they would not. Since the community and the hospital have existing alternatives to this project, the entire exercise appears to be less about improving emergency care in San Luis Obispo than it is about increasing market share and civic prestige at the cost of someone else’s safety, peace of mind and health. We value the quality of life in our neighborhood. We value its diversity of incomes, ages, ethnicities, and lifestyles. We embrace the predictable and unthreatening (although sometimes loud) sounds of the train which connects us to the rest of the world. However, being wakened by the sudden sound of a helicopter taking off or landing overhead is an entirely different emotional experience. It is frightening; something that can evoke negative feelings about past experiences in the military, threats of civil unrest or mass casualties. There is a good reason the public housing for seniors was put here, not next to the airport. In closing: Some of the most serious planning mistakes are made by well-intentioned people blinded by what looks like a progressive idea. Unfortunately, we residents have no resources to protect ourselves from risks once they are put into place so must turn to you, our planning agency, to protect us before the serious mistake is made, instead of appealing to you to help us fix it afterward. Respectfully submitted, Carol J. Nelson-Selby Cc: San Luis Obispo Planning Commission hard copy via U.S. Mail Att: DOT Information Memorandum dated May, 1997; Excerpt from FAA regulations with definitions. Photograph of view of EMS site and railroad light standard from bedroom window 1201 Leff St.