SEQUIM — Trauma patients in Sequim who need to get to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center quickly often endure an ambulance ride to Port Angeles to be picked up by an Airlift Northwest helicopter.
Olympic Medical Center is changing that by building a military-strength helicopter pad at its Sequim campus.
Hospital commissioners voted 7-0 on Wednesday to open bidding for construction of the helipad. The bid carries a maximum cost of $130,000.
OMC has a helipad at its main hospital in Port Angeles. The same consultants were used to design the Sequim helipad, along with Commissioner Jim Leskinovitch, a Coast Guard retiree.
“It’s designed for Airlift Northwest, but it’s also designed to be Coast-Guard-helicopter-, military helicopter-capable,” said Eric Lewis, OMC’s chief executive officer.
The helicopter pad at the Sequim campus, 844 N. Sequim Ave., will have a 54-foot diameter and a thick concrete capable of supporting 22,000 pounds.
“That just allows us to bring in bigger helicopters that would have to land there in emergencies, potentially,” Lewis said.
“I think this will be a huge community asset.”
A bid will be awarded in August. Construction is expected to take two months.
“So by the end of October, we’ll have a Sequim helipad,” Lewis said.
A $10,000 donation from the Sequim Hospital Guild will help pay for the pad, which was not included in OMC’s 2010 budget. The money will come from contingency funds.
Other donations are pending, Lewis said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladaily news.com.
