Use of geographic information systems to determine new helipad locations and improve timely response while mitigating risk of helicopter emergency medical services operations.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic injury is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, but these can be minimized by timely transport to definite care. Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) provide timely transport and can influence survival. However, accident analyses indicate that landing at an unsecured landing zone (LZ), particularly at night, increases the risk of aviation accidents. To ensure safety, some HEMS operations land only at designated, secured LZs.
OBJECTIVE: This study utilized geographic information systems (GISs) to compare locations of scene call requests and secure LZs. The goal was to determine the optimal placement of new helipads as a strategy to improve access while mitigating the risk of aviation accidents.
METHODS: Call request data from a large air medical transport service were used to determine the geographic locations of all requests for scene responses in 2006. Request locations were compared with the locations of existing helipads, and straight-line distances between scene and helipad were determined using the GIS application. The application was then used to determine potential locations for new helipads.
RESULTS: During the study period, 748 requests for scene calls and 269 helipads were available. There were 476 (52.4%) requests at least 10 kilometers from a helipad and 356 (36.6%) requests at least 15 kilometers from a helipad. One particular region, Southwestern Ontario, was identified as having the highest number of requests >15 kilometers from the closest helipad.
CONCLUSION: GISs can be used to determine potential locations for new helipad construction using historical call request data. This evidence-based approach can improve HEMS access while mitigating operational risk.