FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Mark Snider
May 23, 2018 (208) 367-6643/O (208) 779-0560/Media Line
mark.snider@saintalphonsus.org
New Helipad Improves Access to Saint Alphonsus Nampa Hospital
Nampa, ID – With the whirring of blades and a blast of rotor wash, Life Flight pilot Cliff Exley sets the AW119 "Koala" helicopter down softly on the helipad at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Nampa.
While the 60'x60' concrete pad doesn't look like much, for patients and staff at the Nampa hospital, the new helipad represents something very important: Hope.
"This gives us the ability to be closely linked to the other hospitals up and down the I-84 Corridor, rather than an outpost south of town," said Travis Leach, President of Saint Alphonsus Nampa. "So it really allows the Nampa hospital and emergency services to up our game. When someone is in the Owyhee Mountains and has an accident, they can quickly be transported to our hospital for emergency care." Leach joined Life Flight, Canyon County Paramedics and hospital staff in a ribbon cutting ceremony today to officially open the helipad.
Not only will the new helipad allow for patients to be transported to Nampa for care, but it will also be used to transport patients from the Nampa hospital to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, the area's only Level II Trauma Center.
Saint Alphonsus partnered with the Life Flight Network and the Canyon County Paramedics on the landing pad, located adjacent to the nearly year-old medical center. In the coming weeks,
Saint Alphonsus will join with the Paramedics and Nampa Police Department to break ground for a new substation next to the hospital.
For Flight Paramedic Ken Shelton, partnerships like this one are critical to saving lives. "One of our most important factors is how much time do we spend on the scene, how much time do we spend in the air." He added, "Safety and time, quality of care, and customer service are essential to what we do and how we do it."
Prior to the construction of the new helipad, Life Flight utilized the Nampa airport, and patients needed to be transported to and from the hospital via ambulance.
About Saint Alphonsus Health System
As a faith-based Catholic ministry and not-for-profit health system, Saint Alphonsus Health System reinvests in the communities we serve, through charity care and other benefits. Our goal is to improve the health and well-being of people by emphasizing care that is patient-centered, physician-led, innovative and community-based. Saint Alphonsus Health System serves the people of southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada through these facilities: Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise, ID; Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Nampa, ID; Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Ontario, OR; Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Baker City, OR; and, Saint Alphonsus Medical Group with primary and specialty care providers at over 60 clinic locations, all of which are members of the Saint Alphonsus Health Alliance, a network of over 1900 employed and independent providers. Saint Alphonsus is a proud affiliate of Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Trinity Health serves people and communities in 22 states from coast to coast with 94 hospitals and 126 continuing care facilities, home health and hospice programs, and PACE center locations that provide more than 2.5 million visits annually. To find out more go to: www.saintalphonsus.org
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