LEWISTON, N.Y. — A Niagara County hospital is hoping to save time and lives with the installation of a helipad on its campus.
Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston says when patients, including those suffering from a stroke, require a higher level of care, emergency ground transport to Buffalo is 45 minutes. Air transport would cut that time to eight minutes.
"Time is of the essence for stroke cases, as two million brain cells die every minute during a stroke," said Lee Guterman, PhD, MD, Medical Director of Neuroscience Services for Catholic Health and a neuro-interventionist at the Mercy Hospital Comprehensive Stroke Center."
"Mount St. Mary’s is well-equipped to provide exceptional care for most stroke cases, however, some cases will require advanced intervention. The faster critical-level stroke patients receive that intervention, the better the outcome."
In addition to stroke care, patients with critical cardiac, renal, pulmonary, sepsis and certain other conditions will benefit from the expedited transfer, said C.J. Urlaub, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital president and Catholic Health senior vice president of strategic partnerships, integration & care delivery-Niagara County.
A helipad was installed on the Military Road campus back in 1969, but was replaced by a much-needed office building for hospital clinics and providers several years later.
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