Lahey Hospital & Medical Center opens new on-site helideck
Closer proximity to the emergency department saves critical minutes in patient transport
Burlington, Mass. – A new helideck at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) is now in service next to the hospital’s emergency department, providing improved access for critically-ill and trauma patients needing urgent medical treatment. LHMC receives approximately 115 trauma and critically-ill patients by helicopter a year, with patients coming directly from an on-scene trauma event or transferred from another hospital.
“For patients with conditions that are life-threatening, time is of the essence,” said Malcolm Creighton, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Hospital Based Specialties at LHMC. “As the only Level 1 Trauma Center located on Massachusetts’ North Shore, patients rely on LHMC for quick and seamless access to emergency care, and the new helideck is crucial to providing that for our patients when they need it the most.”
Before the new helideck was finished, medical helicopter transports to LHMC landed a short distance away from the hospital and patients were then brought to LHMC’s emergency department by ambulance. The new helideck saves precious seconds and minutes in transferring patients to the emergency department or other critical care areas of the hospital that can often make a vital difference in outcomes.
Completion of the new helideck is the final phase of a significant renovation and expansion of the Joseph C. Corkery, MD, Emergency Center, which opened in 2017. The onsite placement of the helideck, combined with the updated facilities, allows LHMC’s team of emergency medicine experts to provide high-quality, evidence-based emergency care to the region.
“We are grateful for the support from the community and the generous donors who helped fund this integral piece of the Joseph C. Corkery, MD, Emergency Center,” said David Longworth, MD, president of LHMC. “With combined philanthropic gifts totaling more than $2 million dollars, this investment in the greater Burlington area is fundamental to our mission of providing exceptional care both to patients in the immediate community and those from surrounding areas who require our level of care in emergency situations.”
About Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) is a world-renowned tertiary academic medical center known for its innovative technology, pioneering medical treatments and leading-edge research. As a physician-led hospital, LHMC offers a legacy of care and education committed to putting the patient at the center through a multidisciplinary, collaborative and team-based approach. LHMC’s research efforts and clinical trials cross numerous medical disciplines, providing patients with access to the latest options in treatment and care.
LHMC is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.
