A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew performed the first landing at one of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital’s new helicopter landing pads on April 10, 2019.
The Norfolk, Virginia hospital recently built two new rooftop helicopter landing pads in order to quickly move patients to needed care.
A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City-based MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew performed the first landing on the larger of the two landing pads.
The Coast Guard aircrew and hospital personnel participated in the training to practice safely transferring patients from the aircraft to the emergency department. Said Denise Baylous, the program manager of the Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital:
“The new pad will help us streamline patient care from the Coast Guard team to the Sentara team.”
At 269 feet off the ground, the rooftop pad makes landing safer since it is out of the way of any obstacles.
The hospital anticipates that the pad designed to accommodate military helicopters will be ready for full operation in May 2019.
In 2018, over 207 sorties were flown, and 175 lives were saved/assisted, by this Coast Guard Station.
Source: US Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
