City Centre Medevac Study

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godsrcrazy
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by godsrcrazy »

I just did google map.

International airport to University 26.3 Kms 33 minutes
International airport to Royal Alex 29.7 Kms 40 minutes
Garrison to Royal Alex 15.4 Kms 23 minutes
Garrison to University 25.8 Kms 35 minutes

I am No medical expert but i believe all major trauma causes etc go to University. I still think the International is a better option as hit has all the Nav aids etc as well as although its further most of the ambulance trip would be on 4 lane highways.
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Tom H
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Tom H »

Till we know what NAV aids etc the Province is planning on its tough to critique' facility.

Medivac has been split, from what Doctor friends tell me, biased to the Alex...but lots to U fo A.

But much like you I did google maps and came up with similar numbers, but google maps doen't yet account for the Anthony Henday ring road, and seeing as I live here I went out and drove it (not speeding, kid in the car with Ice cream, evening traffic 7-9pm).

It was interesting...
From the Garrison in evening traffic
To Royal Alex...............................about 15 minutes
To Strugeon General......................about 10-12 minutes
To the Misericordia........................about 18 minutes
To the U of A via Anthony Henday....about 20-25minutes

Considering how bad hwy 2 can get in the winter, busy traffic patterns (air and ground) and not knowing exactly where the YEG medivac area will be I can see advantages to Namao on many fronts.

and no one said it would be the ONLY medivac airport...if it's determined prior to take off or enroute YEG would still be available.

Plus each acts as an alternate airport for the other.

Sure would like to know more though.

Tom
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rigpiggy
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by rigpiggy »

they may have to knock down those buildings at the end of the runway first
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rigpiggy
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by rigpiggy »

btw STARS may work to say a 120 radius from yeg, yyc but significant amounts of AB are outside those circles. Not to mention YT, and NWT. Personally, I think Stars needs an audit like Ornge
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Tom H
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Tom H »

rigpiggy wrote:they may have to knock down those buildings at the end of the runway first
Knowing what I know about the military I cannot imagine them ever allowing the main base to be overflown.

So the only runway that would be under consideration would have to be 03/21 which would allow arrivals/departures without overflying the main base.

It has no buildings on or near it and is 6500' +/-

Tom
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godsrcrazy
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by godsrcrazy »

rigpiggy wrote:btw STARS may work to say a 120 radius from yeg, yyc but significant amounts of AB are outside those circles. Not to mention YT, and NWT. Personally, I think Stars needs an audit like Ornge

You have my Vote on the audit. Ya Non Profit after everyone gets the big pay checks
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Captain X
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Captain X »

A reply from MLA Laurie Blakeman re City Centre Medevac relocation
Show Details
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This was my initial email that sparked this response

I am concerned about the loss of effective and timely medevac air ambulance service into Edmonton Due to the relocation to the Edmonton International Airport.

I am an Air Ambulance Captain in Alberta. I have seen first hand what happens when we have to land at the International airport vs city centre. Huge delays due to the long ambulance rides to the hospitals which put patient safety at risk.

Last year, over 5,000 northern Albertans were medevac'd to Edmonton’s hospitals through the City Centre Airport—an average of 14 per day. The current medevac landing strip (Edmonton City Centre) is less than 5 minutes from the Royal Alexandra Hospital and only 13 minutes away from the University of Alberta Hospital.

I Request that the relocation be delayed until a proper solution is implemented. The life that you help save may well be that of someone you know and love.

Thank you for your Time


here is her reply.................


Thank you for your email regarding the City Centre airport.

The City Centre airport issue is done, finished, over, complete. The City of Edmonton has complete authority to close it and it has. This was preceded by two democratic votes in which citizens of Edmonton elected to close the airport. Some will tell you that we didn’t know what we were voting on, or we got confused – that too, is just simplistic and frankly pretty insulting.

At this point the runway which was closed has been repurposed. It cannot be made into a runway again as it would have to conform to new criteria from NavCan and that is an impossibility of money, planning and environmental expectations.

The medevac flights which did come in to the City Centre were fixed wing flights – they were medical, but rarely emergencies. So shame on whoever is telling you that people would die because of a 20 minute time difference between the two airports. These flights brought in people from northern Alberta but also NWT, and the Yukon for tests, long term or repeat treatments and often for pregnant women from remote communities where Doctors felt they should be in a larger centre in case of complications.

Emergency flights have been by STARS and other air ambulance providers for many years. If you had a highway collision or job injury, you were helicoptered in to either the Royal Alex or the UofA. You were and you still are.

If we are truly worried about cutting down 20 minutes of time then let’s deal with reducing the need for emergency care in the first place. Maybe we should consider making winter tires mandatory or reducing speed limits. Both of which have studies to back up the claims of reduced injuries. Alberta has the worst record of on the job injuries – why aren’t we addressing that with improvements in Occupational Health and Safety legislation. We could also have police or RCMP response time cut down by better funding their activities as they relate to injuries.
In other words if 20 minutes of time is really the issue then why not work to eliminate that 20 minutes on the front end instead of demanding an override of a democratic vote by citizens about how they wish land used inside their City limits.

The Alberta Health Service announced the funding and additional service they will be operating at the Edmonton International Airport. It is a thorough and well financed alternative. Alberta Health Services does not have the authority to re-open the airport or to expropriate land for that purpose.

As a provincial MLA I am in the one level of government that has NO authority in this matter. The City of Edmonton and the federal government – yes. And they have made their decisions years ago. Those decisions will not be reversed.

I don’t know who has given you such incendiary information almost entirely lacking in fact. It is a dis-service to you and to me.

The bright side of this is that you felt impassioned enough to hit the keyboard and send an email. It is rare in Alberta to get people interested enough in an issue to have them invest time and energy in writing to a politician – so I am grateful to you for being an advocate, however much I disagree with your complaint or your solution.

I’ll end by saying that no one wishes your family members to die, or to be further harmed. If you have cause to advocate in the future, may I give you feedback that using that as a threat, or to gain attention, does not win people to your side. After all, you want the politician to do something for you. How well do you react to a threat as compared to a request?

I will not be taking any further action or responding to additional emails.

Regards,

Laurie Blakeman
MLA Edmonton-Centre
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Captain X
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Captain X »

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Skully
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Skully »

Sending a letter to her is just not worth it on this issue. Her husband is Councillor Henderson. She supports the closure of the city centre. I am not surprised at the reply.

What you all need to do is start flooding the NDP and Wild Rose with your concerns and her reply.
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TransportCanadaGuru
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by TransportCanadaGuru »

It would seem to me as though if an extension is required in order to complete infrastructure at YEG to support critical patients, why not send the non-critical "yellow and green" patients as planned to CYEG and the "red" patients to CYXD for the extra month or so (flight operations continue at XD during this time anyway) until the proposed care centre is complete. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

That MLA's response is quite unprofessional and will be guarenteed a PR nightmare - she definately should have thought that one through.
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Redneck_pilot86
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Redneck_pilot86 »

rigpiggy wrote:btw STARS may work to say a 120 radius from yeg, yyc but significant amounts of AB are outside those circles. Not to mention YT, and NWT. Personally, I think Stars needs an audit like Ornge
Not many YT medevacs coming to Edmonton.
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Trematode
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by Trematode »

Captain X,

Good on you for taking the time to send the e-mail. The MLA's reply makes me sick to my stomach -- did she even read what you said? That you were speaking from first hand experience, and not echoing somebody's "incendiary information lacking in fact"?

I also got a chuckle out of her assertion that there were "two democratic votes" -- YEAH, to keep the bloody place open!

She sure spent a lot of time trying to defend her position when she's not supposed to be involved at the provincial level. But don't try to call her on any of the BS, because she will not be replying to any more e-mails.

Makes me absolutely sick.
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Re: City Centre Medevac Study

Post by 1000 HP »

rigpiggy wrote:it is amazing how much shorter this thread is when aviator2010 is on your ignore list
First time I ever tried that :lol: works great :lol:

As far as the airport goes, I flew in not long ago to see my heart specialist. It was about a 15 minute walk from the airport to the doctor's office. I got some much needed exercise, and passed my tests just fine. I walked back to my airplane and flew home to Lloydminster in 50 minutes.

It's over a 2 hour drive each way down the highway, so super convenient for us pilots with possible cardio issues :rolleyes:
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