York Region trauma patients in need of an airlift can be assured of faster service as a new helipad has come online in the region.
After several months of work, York Region Paramedic Services has introduced a new helipad at its headquarters in East Gwillimbury, 80 Bales Dr. E. The helipad will allow the provincial Orng air ambulances to land safely and more frequently in a location under 10 minutes away from Newmarket’s Southlake Regional Health Centre.
It is a significant difference, acting chief of paramedics Jeremy Watts said. For the past several months, the air ambulance would have to land somewhere as far away as Toronto’s Pearson Airport to go from there to Southlake. A closer location can help trauma patients, Watts said.
“One of the things the medicine and the science tells us is the sooner you’re able to get care in a trauma centre, generally, the better the outcomes are for the individual,” Watts said. “Having to go by land versus air for these is huge.”
York Region has been without such a helipad since the closure of Markham's Buttonville Airport in November 2023. This new helipad has been in the works for some time and will be part of a one-year pilot, but the region hopes it will work out well and become permanent.
The paramedic services headquarters has had a less formal concrete pad for a while, Watts said. But getting it up to the regulatory standards for the Orng helicopters to land more regularly, and safely, took some time and work.
“They were able to land in the space from time to time, but they weren’t able to consistently use it,” Watts said, adding they took measures like adding lights, cutting trees and ensuring there was good safety in place. “This is a much safer way to do it. The flight path can all be pre-arranged … It’s better for the patient, it’s better for the aircrew and it’s better for our crews.
During this pilot phase, Watts said they will work with other partners to ensure this is the best way forward for everyone involved.
But with this being a closer spot than Pearson or even the previously used Buttonville Airport, Watts said it should make a positive difference.
“For the time where minutes really do matter, this is a really good illustration that provincial and municipal partnerships can work,” he said. “This only worked because everyone worked together to actually get this off the ground.”
