Heliport

On January 24, 2008 Chicago's City Council’s Zoning Committee approved plans for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, which include the building of a rooftop heliport. A heliport will be used for emergency helicopter transports of critically ill children. City approval was crucial, but ultimately authorization for heliport operation will be determined by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, after a formal independent review of the planned heliport’s safety.

 Our top priority in the establishment and operation of this heliport is safety

• The planned heliport will be used to receive critically ill children who cannot be transported to the new hospital safely by ground transportation. A similar heliport has been used at the Lincoln Park hospital for 20 years.
• During that time, Children's Memorial has been able to provide lifesaving care to critically ill and injured children who are transported to us via helicopter because it is the only means of transportation compatible with their survival.
• The proposed rooftop heliport will be constructed with safety as the top priority. This heliport will be larger than the current heliport at the Lincoln Park site. It will include a state-of-the-art weather station that will provide "real time" wind and weather updates to the pilot in flight.
• Approximately 73 children and several organs are transported by helicopter to Children's Memorial annually. For about half of the children transported by helicopter two flights are required. The first flight is used to pick up a medical transport team and equipment from the hospital. The second flight returns with the child and the transport team. It is expected that the new hospital will have a similar number of helicopter transports. Historically, at least 70 percent of flights occur between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• Federal, State of Illinois and City of Chicago authorization are required for this application. The Division of Aeronautics of the Illinois Department of Transportation is the lead agency for the government's analysis and will coordinate review with the Federal Aviation Administration. Once the Federal and State review is completed Chicago's Department of Aviation will also review the application.
• To develop a plan for the safest use of the helicopter, Children's Memorial retained a team of five expert organizations with specific specialties: Landrum & Brown, aviation consultancy; Thomas E. Salaman, Federal Aviation specialist; Barry Technologies Inc., sound and noise technology; Vertical Aeronautics International, heliport construction consulting; and RWDI Group, wind consulting and analysis.
• In July 2007, the following analyses were completed: safety studies, including flight path analysis and Homeland Security review; noise monitoring studies, including the results from an actual helicopter flight to the site in mid-late May; and wind data analysis, including results from one month of data from weather stations on top of Prentice and the ADA. Read the complete report >>
• We have been providing quarterly helicopter reports to neighbors and community leaders in Lincoln Park since our heliport was built. These reports detail (within HIPAA guidelines) when and why each transport was necessary. We plan to provide similar reports to our future neighbors.
• Each helicopter landing and take-off is dependent on weather conditions. If it is not safe, helicopter transport is not an option. A weather station will be placed on top of our building so that helicopter pilots can use up-to-the-minute weather conditions to make decisions about whether or not to fly.