Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
As the shape and sounds of the new Kimball hospital become more of a reality, rumors and questions persist about the new hospital and its helicopter pad.
Kimball Health Services Human Resources Director Stephanie Pedersen and Community Relations Director Kerry Ferguson answered questions about the location and safety of the helicopter pad at the new Kimball Health Services facility.
The helicopter pad was never going to be anywhere except where it is located on the northeast side of the hospital grounds near Highway 30 and Webster Street, they said. Many locals thought the pad would be located on the south end of the hospital block on top of the building, but Pedersen stated that it would have been structurally prohibitive to have the helicopter land on the roof.
“It would have just cost too much,” she said.
She said several helicopter pilots from Scottsbluff and Cheyenne have surveyed the helicopter pad, and they are all OK with it. A chain link fence will enclose the helicopter pad.
Other rumors persist that Highway 30 traffic and other local traffic will be halted when a Flight For Life helicopter lands, but that also is untrue. There will be no restrictions.
Ferguson said the hospital looks forward to the increased response time and the safer option for transporting patients.
“We won’t have to haul patients to the airport for a transfer,” he said.