Saturday, October 15, 2011

Illinois: Streeterville hospital gets final approval for heliport

The Illinois Department of Transportation on Friday approved a rooftop helicopter landing on top of Children’s Memorial Hospital’s new Streeterville building.

The heliport will be atop the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, which remains under construction and is scheduled to open in June 2012 at 225 E. Chicago Ave., according to a release from Children’s Memorial Hospital.

The City of Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration had already approved the heliport.

Children’s Memorial Hospital has operated a rooftop heliport on its current hospital in Lincoln Park for more than 20 years, according to the release, which said an average of 73 critically ill or injured children and five life-savings organs arrive via helicopter each year.

“We want to thank IDOT for its thorough review and analysis of our application,” said Patrick Magoon, President and CEO of Children’s Memorial Hospital. “Providing life-saving heliport services for our most critically ill and injured patients is an important part of our mission, and our goal will always be to continue to work to make this heliport as safe as it can be. This approval from IDOT provides us the authority to begin our own rigorous program of evaluating and refining our procedures, equipment and operations.”

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