Helipads Top New Parkland Hospital Construction

DALLAS – Construction of two helipads on top of the new Parkland hospital will improve health care quality and safety for patients.

Currently helicopters transporting patients to Parkland must navigate between two buildings to land.

“Helicopters now will have a clear flight path to the helipads,” said Lou Saksen, Senior Vice President of New Parkland Construction.

In addition, the helipads will have a built-in de-icing system, Saksen said.

“It will be heated so ice can’t form, which is much better than our current method of having our engineering staff salt down the helipad and scrape ice away,” Saksen explained.

The helipads are substantially larger, designed to offer the option of having more room for caregivers who are waiting on air ambulances to land, according to Saksen. All air ambulances in surrounding counties are linked to Parkland’s premiere trauma and burn centers, where the most severe cases are treated.

High-speed, oversized elevators are being installed on the helipads to more quickly transport patients to operating rooms.

“There are also structural accommodations for a future expansion of a third helistop that would allow for increased volume and frequency, thus better serving patients when needed,” said Nathan DeVore, a project architect with Corgan Associates Inc., a Dallas-based architectural firm designing new Parkland.

The new Parkland hospital is scheduled to be completed in summer of 2014, and open in 2015. With a campus covering 2.5 million square feet, it is the largest new hospital construction project in the country.

For regular construction updates, visit the new Parkland website at http://newparkland.parklandhospital.com.