Oracle will get quick care

University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., has Southern Arizona's only level-one trauma center, which has a team of specialists trained in treating trauma and critical injuries.

With the helispot, air transportation to other hospitals — including Northwest Medical Center Oro Valley, at Tangerine and Oracle roads — also will be expedited.

The helispot, which has been under construction since January, is at American Avenue and Justice Drive. It's expected to be completed late this month. It was designed to conform with the Federal Aviation Administration's requirements for helispot design and safety standards, said Ross Hopkins, a community member working on the project.

Oracle residents and Oracle Fire Department officials solicited enough donations and discounts from the Oracle and Tucson areas to pay for the heli-spot — about $20,000, said Larry Southard, the Fire Department's fire-prevention officer.

The FAA requirements include specifications for the size of the concrete pad for landing, certain painted cues on the pad and a safety zone around the helispot. There are several reasons for the precise standards.

"They provide visual cues for the descending air crew (members) who may be landing on an unfamiliar helispot at night, in inclement weather, fighting poor visibility and winds, knowing they are on an emergency medevac mission with a critical patient awaiting air transportation," Hopkins wrote in an e-mail.

The "golden hour" for emergency professionals is the one during which a critically ill or injured patient must reach emergency care if the patient is to survive, Hopkins said.

The FAA requirements also including lighting, a fence, a concrete pad surrounded by gravel and a switch that can activate the lights at night.

"This is very significant," said Oracle Fire Chief Albert Ortiz. "We've been very busy."

State Rep. Cheryl Chase, who represents almost all of Pinal County, including Oracle, was an industrial nurse for 20 years as well as an emergency medical technician and EMT instructor.

"This (helispot) is extremely important, because we're talking about people's lives here," Chase said. "When you're in these outlying areas, you've got a very limited time to stabilize somebody."

Until the helispot is complete, Oracle fire officials must wet down a field behind the County Complex near the new helispot in preparation for a helicopter landing, and helicopter pilots use the American flag flying near the building as a way to determine wind direction.

"Unless people live or work in a rural area, they don't really understand what is involved when there is an emergency," Chase said. "Most of the time in rural areas, the police and fire departments have to find a place for the helicopter to land."

Calling the helispot vital, Chase said it will help get helicopters in and people with medical emergencies out in a safe way.

"The sooner you can get someone to advanced care, the better chance you have in preventing any further damage or death," Chase said. "Time is just essential."

Air Evac Services Inc. does helicopter transportation for medical emergencies in Oracle, and marketing manager Ryan Visina said the helispot is a welcome addition to the community.

In the case of remote landings, local Fire Department officials set up a landing area — often in a parking lot or field — and there is always a certain degree of obstruction, Visina said.

"This helispot gives us a predictable, clear shot to pick up a patient without those hazards," Visina said.

Visina estimates that Air Evac Services flies into Oracle a couple of times a month for medical emergency transport.

"There are a lot of communities that do not have helispots, and they rely on the remote landings," Visina said. "This will not take away Oracle's remote responses 100 percent, but the helipad gives a nice, predictable area for the helicopter to land."

Part of the work for the heli-spot was done by community members. Oracle firefighters and their family members, along with Oracle volunteers and Pinal County employees, moved gravel and dirt, and prepared the site.

Overhead electric lines were rerouted, utility poles were removed, and several electric lines were placed underground to make way for eight low-level green lights to outline the concrete helipad and two floodlights to light up the helipad and a windsock, Hopkins said.

With the support of county Supervisor Lionel Ruiz, Pinal County approved a free lease on the site, which had been used by the county's Public Works Department as a storage site. The helispot will be managed by the Oracle Fire Department.

The helispot will help more than just Oracle residents — it will also help those who live nearby communities or are injured along Arizona 77 in car accidents, Southard said.

Oracle fire officials plan to apply for FAA approval for the heli-spot and anticipate a ribbon-cutting ceremony for May, he said.