UCSF Shares Results of Helicopter Noise Analysis with Community

By Shipra Shukla Demonstrating the University's commitment to work with the community during the design and building of the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, results of a helicopter noise analysis were presented to about 25 neighbors who attended the session on March 31. University representatives and noise consultants shared the test flight results and responded to concerns during the three-hour meeting. UCSF was not required to conduct the test flight, but chose to do so at the request of the community. "We responded to the neighbors' request and we all learned a lot from it," said Cindy Lima, project director of the medical center at Mission Bay. "By moving the helipad to the north end of our site, we'll greatly reduce noise to the neighborhood. Some people will hear the helicopter for a few minutes -- minutes devoted to saving a life." UCSF plans to build a 289-bed, integrated hospital complex to serve children, women and cancer patients on 14.5 acres of land near its existing 43-acre biomedical campus at Mission Bay. Building a new medical center at Mission Bay aligns with the UCSF Strategic Plan, which calls on UCSF to "expand clinical capacity to address immediate and long-term capacity needs" in part by building "a new medical center for children, women and cancer patients at Mission Bay by 2014." The entire strategic plan is available here. A public hearing on the draft of the environmental impact report for the project will be held on Tuesday, April 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Genentech Hall Auditorium on the UCSF Mission Bay campus. In addition to the presentation of results from the Oct. 21 helicopter test flight, UCSF displayed the hospital's pediatric critical care ambulance, giving neighbors the opportunity to view the actual module that would be used in the helicopter transports. Community members stopped by the ambulance parked outside Genentech Hall at UCSF Mission Bay to take a look inside the vehicle and ask questions, which were answered by Christa Thomas, a pediatric transport manager. Providing Expertise UCSF Children's Hospital provides advanced treatments for serious, life-threatening diseases to the children of San Francisco, California and beyond. Since community hospitals are unable to provide the level of pediatric expertise that is available here, UCSF Children's Hospital is often the only hope or the only option for an ill child when other hospitals are full. A helipad at the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay would provide immediate access for the most critically ill newborns, children and pregnant women. The risk of transporting these patients would be reduced because the presence of a helipad decreases both the transport time and the number of vehicle transfers a patient needs to undergo. Driving patients up from San Francisco Airport can take from 25 to 60 minutes, depending on the traffic. In response to previous requests by some community members that UCSF consider an off-site helipad rather than a helipad on the new hospital site, Kevin Beauchamp, director of physical planning for UCSF Campus Planning, presented a feasibility analysis of off-site helipad locations that had been evaluated. The analysis illustrated that although perhaps two off-site locations could be feasible, an off-site helipad is not optimal for patient care, due to the need for a secondary transfer from the helicopter to a ground ambulance, and from a ground ambulance to the hospital. A secondary transfer adds time to the transport and delays potentially lifesaving treatment, hospital officials say. In addition, during such transfers, patients must be unhooked and rehooked to life-saving emergency medical devices, and there is the potential during maneuvers to dislodge medical tubes. Transfers also cause physiological stress to patients who are already severely compromised, according to said Sam Hawgood, MBBS, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and interim dean of the UCSF School of Medicine. "When you move a patient, you increase the risk," Hawgood said. "Vast stretches of Northern California just don't have the expertise to deal with advanced pediatric medical conditions. The helipad will be used for those patients where speed is of the essence." The helicopter will not be used for routine transport of stable patients or transporting patients from UCSF to other facilities. All patients with emergency, but less serious conditions will be transported to UCSF by ground ambulances. UCSF will continue to do a fair amount of transports by fixed-wing aircraft through San Francisco Airport, a process which does require further ground transport. The noise analysis results were presented by noise and vibration control consultants Harris Miller Miller & Hanson. The helipad site planning is guided by several key objectives, at the forefront of which is a desire to minimize the impact on the community and comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. Addressing Concerns After the results were presented, some residents expressed concern about being woken up and about hearing noise outdoors in their gardens. Some questioned the validity and objectivity of the FAA's noise model. The concerns were discussed at length throughout the meeting. Much of the discussion about noise and vibration control centered around comparing the noise of a helicopter with ambient noise in the area. Ambient noise in the Mission Bay area includes sounds such as Caltrain, motorcycles, news helicopters and traffic on highway 280. Some residents said that they feel inundated with noise already. Results showed that helicopter noise at levels that may disturb sleep are expected to be contained largely to the UCSF campus and medical center site itself, although there is the possibility that noise levels may extend to the block south of the medical center. Of note is that the noise analysis includes assumptions that may overestimate the impact. Nonetheless, UCSF remains committed to working with nearby residents to address their concerns about noise resulting from operation of the medical helipad. The University has committed to responding to all concerns regarding the helicopter and creating an ongoing monitoring work group to include community members. The meeting on March 31 also brought out residents who expressed their support for the helipad and the hospital project. Loran White, a resident who lives on Berry Street, has been a regular attendee at the community meetings, which began more than a year ago. "Based on the requests of the community at large, UCSF has certainly addressed each concern as it has been presented," she said. "The majority of people in my building are committed to having the hospital built as a world-class facility, and we will continue to stay involved in the process that will provide the best possible care, as well as the least amount of impact to the surrounding neighborhoods." Related Links: UCSF and Community Work Together to Address Concerns About Proposed Helipad at Mission Bay Noise Analysis Report (PDF) Facts About UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay