ABC6: OhioHealth Grant Medical Center opens new dual helipad

In living OhioHealth’s mission of improving the health of those we serve, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center has a long-standing commitment to trauma care in the communities across the region. Grant Medical Center is the busiest Level I Trauma Center in Ohio. Over the past 10 years, the program has seen 86 percent growth and continues to grow. To support this growth, OhioHealth has invested $5.7 million in the Trauma program at Grant — expanding services and capabilities and building on expertise.

With the opening of the new dual helipad at Grant, the Trauma expansion project is now complete. Grant now has the ability to have three medical helicopters on site at one time, with the existing helipad as a back up. The two new helipads include an alpha pad for landing and a parking pad. The new helipads also open up the opportunity for larger helicopters to land at Grant, and now all helicopters that fly in the state can land there.

ABC6 reporter, Lu Ann Stoia, paid a visit to Grant to talk with Shay O’Mara, MD, medical director of Grant Trauma Services, and learn more about the new helipad and what it means for patients. According to O’Mara, OhioHealth sees 20 percent of all trauma patients in Ohio and Grant sees about half of those Ohio trauma patients.

“Here at Grant, our role is to not just be the Level I Trauma Center for the highest critically ill patients in central Ohio, but it’s also to be the Level I Trauma Center for the rural parts of our state,” said O’Mara. “It’s the right thing in response to what our people, our patients and our partners in helicopter transport have asked us for.”

Upon the completion of the helipad, the Grant trauma program now has:

• Increased the number of trauma bays from two to three — constructing a new bay and improving the two current bays.
• Constructed a new helipad, capable of dual landings and accommodating larger helicopters.
• Replaced radiology equipment rooms and added a new X-ray room in the ED.
• Renovated the EMS break room, providing a larger, improved space for EMS.

With these improvements, Grant is even better equipped to serve patients for years to come, allowing accommodation for more critical patients when seconds and minutes count.

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