SAVING LIVES: Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Shows Off New Pad

POMONA, California, September 30, 2017  — Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) has partnered with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) to perform a test flight of CHLA’s helicopter on PVHMC’s new helipad. The partnership will provide pediatric patients quicker access to critical and specialized pediatric care at CHLA.

“The presence of a helipad in Pomona will make a significant difference in the lives of children in the San Gabriel Valley who are involved in a trauma,” says Aaron Jensen, MD, MEd, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care at CHLA.  “We can now stabilize them at PVHMC’s Trauma Center and then rapidly transfer them by helicopter straight to surgery or the pediatric intensive care unit at CHLA. I’m excited to be part of the PVHMC Trauma team.”

The helipad, which was certified for occupancy this month and sits atop a five-story parking structure, was designed and built as a component of PVHMC’s Trauma Center, designated in March of 2017. It allows the hospital to quickly receive patients brought in via helicopter for trauma, stroke and cardiac incidents, maternal-fetal transports, and other emergencies.

In addition to receiving these emergent patients, the helipad allows PVHMC to transfer pediatric patients who need surgical intervention or intensive care to CHLA, the nearest freestanding, Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, in as little as 30 minutes.

Previously, pediatric patients were transported by ambulance from Pomona to Los Angeles. The 34-mile drive often took more than hour, especially if a child needed to be transported during peak traffic hours.

“The collaboration between the PVHMC and CHLA trauma centers ensures that our injured kids are being cared for by a team of experts,” says Stephanie Raby, RN, Director of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Services at PVHMC. “We want the kids in our community to have the best care possible and this partnership will help create the best outcomes for our pediatric trauma patients.”

For more information about Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center’s Trauma Center, visit: www.pvhmc.org/#Trauma_Center.