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A leak in the fire suppression system of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital’s helicopter landing pad has forced hospital officials to instead use the local airport to transport patients.
Director of Public Relations Frankie Gallagher said the hospital is working on replacing the system but there is no expected date of completion. The leak was discovered on May 26 and the helipad was immediately shut down.
Hazel Hawkins CEO Mary Casillas informed the San Benito Health Care District board of the issue on June 4. She said a new system costs $77,000 but the price doesn’t include labor costs associated with replacing the system.
“The fire system for that pad is aged and no longer meets the requirements of the State of California,” Casillas said.
She said foam was leaking from the system.
Gallagher said the system is tested regularly and that is when the leak was discovered.
Neither Casillas nor Chief Nursing Officer Karen Descent answered health care board member Devon Pack’s question about the additional time it will take to fly out patients from the Hollister Municipal Airport.
“The normal response time for the ambulance crew in the evening is the standard they would have whether they were landing on the helipad or not,” she said.
Gallagher told BenitoLink on June 13 it would take an additional 10 minutes for the patient to be transferred from the airport to the hospital. She said an ambulance will transport the helicopter crew to the hospital to get the patient ready for the transfer. The patient and crew are then transported to the airport. The hospital is 4.4 miles from the airport.
Pack also asked how often patients are flown out of the hospital and Casillas said she did not have that information on hand and would provide it at the next meeting.
Gallagher said she was gathering that information for BenitoLink but had not provided it as of publication.
Gallagher said not having a helipad only impacts patients already admitted to the hospital who require a higher level of care at a different facility. Those needing CalStar services, such as vehicle accident victims, are flown out from or near the patient’s location, she said.
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