Putnam County launching a new initiative to install a network of concrete helipads to streamline emergency medical evacuations for first responders.
Putnam County Commissioner Jonathan Williams said the project originated from conversations with paramedics and pilots.
“The idea struck me that we really needed some safe pre-designated constructed places for these helicopters to land so they could quickly transport patients more safely when those needs arise,” Williams said.
Williams said the project is being funded through the county’s capital projects fund with each pad estimated at some $50,000. Williams said the first completed pad is located at a fire station near Burgess Falls, with additional sites planned for Monterey and the northern and western portions of the county.
Putnam County has two more helipads included in the budget for the coming year.
“This is something that most counties have not done to date, so this is a rather innovative thing that Putnam County is doing,” Williams said. “All the feedback has been positive so far.”
County Fire Chief Jeff Hicks said the new infrastructure allows for a “scoop and go” model where ambulances meet helicopters at a fire station rather than in a field or on a roadway. Hicks said the Burgess Falls location also serves as a pre-planned staging area for mass casualty events.
“It’s important to have a dedicated area, it’s important to know your areas,” Hicks said. “It will make their job easier if they’re in that area, but, you know, we’re so used to finding a field or closing a road if we have to.”
Hicks said the county has already installed orange markers on power lines surrounding the Burgess Falls pad to help pilots identify hazards. Hicks said the long-term goal is to equip the pads with lighting systems that would allow them to function as official Federal Aviation Administration landing zones.
“The biggest thing is trying to get the birds to come in and land in an area where you’re not having to close the interstate or close to an interstate, so you’re not disrupting traffic,” Hicks said. “Getting it away from a school or an assembly of any kind and away from the interstate where people’s not trying to, you know, people have enough trouble driving down the road as it is without looking at a helicopter landing, being distracted. So getting it, taking that scenario away is, is to me the greatest value in this.”
Williams said the initiative aims to reduce the time it takes to transport patients to trauma centers like Vanderbilt or Erlanger. Williams said the county previously relied on gravel lots or open fields, which created difficulties with debris and landing safety.
“I’m just really excited about this,” Williams said. “This is one of the things I take great pride in in being a county commissioner and when my time on the commission is through, which is hopefully down the road a ways, I’ll I’ll take great pride in having had a small part in getting this done.”
