Will Buffalo General get a helipad?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Kaleida Health says "time means life" when it comes to emergencies. That's why Mercy Flight conducted a test landing over Buffalo General Hospital Monday night.

When every minute counts, taking to air can save a life, that's why Kaleida Health wants to put a landing pad for Mercy Flight on top of Buffalo General Hospital.

Kaleida Health spokesman Michael Hughes said, “Helipads become a natural extension of emergency rooms. If you're in a rural area and you have a heart attack or a stroke and you have access to that emergency clinical care, heat specialist or stroke specialist, this becomes a very good option for people so, as we say, time is life."

It would help especially help to get cardiac patients to Buffalo General.

Mercy Flight physician Dr. Joshua Lynch said, “Right now, we have to land at ECMC and take us over to Buffalo General. If we had a helipad on the roof, we could get that patient over to the ER within minutes."

Mercy Flight already has landing pads at Women and Children’s, Mercy, and ECMC, and just so the residents around Buffalo General could see what it would sound like, they did a slow flyover similar to a landing Monday afternoon.

Barabara Lewis, a resident, said, “I think the noise is tolerable. It was not loud and I think about the senior citizens over here and I think it would be okay. It's not so bad.”

Dennis Everhart, who lives in the neighborhood, said, “It wasn't loud." But could he deal with it twice a day? “More if necessary. It depends on what happens,” shrugged Everhart.

Ellicott District Common Council member Darius Pridgen said, “[The vote takes place tomorrow if there are no holdups. Looks as if, unless we get an overwhelming amount of residents that contact us tonight at our office or tomorrow morning, that we'll vote for it, or at least, I would vote for it in the affirmative.”

The Common Council is expected to vote on the helipad on Tuesday, barring any delays from Buffalo General Hospital or residents. If residents have any concerns, they can contact Rev. Pridgen’s office before the vote on Tuesday at 851-4980. If approved, the helipad would be up and running by late summer.