Island Health hopes to reopen helipad at Tofino hospital in 2018
Mayor says restoring service a top priority as more visitors flock to region
The health authority for Vancouver Island hopes to replace the defunct helipad at the Tofino General Hospital in 2018.
The helipad was taken out service in 2011 because it didn't meet Transport Canada standards.
Patients who need an air ambulance must be transferred 20 minutes by road to the regional airport.
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne said a new helipad is badly needed.
"This is absolutely critical to the health services here in Tofino for the region as the only hospital on the island without an attached helipad," Osborne said.
The replacement of the Tofino helipad has been delayed by issues concerning tree height and land ownership, but Island Health believes those problems have been resolved.
The health authority is hiring an engineering firm to come up with a plan to make the necessary upgrades.
"Hopefully we have everything lined up so we can get this completed," said Chris Sullivan, the director of capital planning for Island Health.
"We want to have helipads at all of our hospital sites."
Long overdue
Funding for the project will be explored once engineers come up with a design, Sullivan said.
Local and regional government officials have long called for the replacement of the helipad.
Those calls grew louder when Tofino's emergency response capabilities were thrust into the international spotlight after a whale-watching vessel capsized in 2015 with 27 people on board.
Osborne says it will be a relief to see the helipad back in service because more people visit the west coast of Vancouver Island each year and more people are choosing to live in the region.
"Knowing that we have quick access to get people out who need it at some of the worst times of their lives is really important."