A helipad in a town of fewer than 1,500 might seem excessive, but when it comes to an emergency rescue, whether from a stroke, a car crash, or a critical injury, time is of the essence — and helicopter extraction is often the fastest way to a hospital.
Such was the case on Feb. 17, when Ancram Town Clerk Monica Cleveland’s father, Ron Brant, slipped on his icy driveway in Ancram and fractured his skull. Cleveland’s sister found him unconscious and in a pool of blood. In its inaugural use, Ancram’s helipad, constructed next to the Town Hall last July, proved life-saving.
An ambulance from Greenport Rescue Squad — roughly 17 miles away — responded first and stabilized Brant. The decision was made to fly him out. When the helicopter from LifeNet was looking for a place to land, it was Brant who suggested the new Ancram helipad, which the Highway Department had just cleared of snow.
“My father, who did not know his own name at that point, perked up and said, ‘Yes, my daughter has a helipad,’” recalled Cleveland at the Feb. 19 Town Board meeting. “I had to explain it was not personally my helipad.” Brant was evacuated to Albany Medical Center. He returned home early the next morning, and has made a full recovery.
The helipad was a joint construction effort between the Ancram Highway Department, which provided the gravel base, and A. Colarusso & Son Inc., which provided the equipment and laid the asphalt over one day.
“A helipad for medical emergencies had been on the wish list for years,” Highway Superintendent Jim Miller told the Herald, “but costs were a concern.”
This came at no extra cost to taxpayers. A. Colarusso & Son offered its services as an in kind donation, with the Town of Ancram providing office space at the Town Hall to Colarusso’s team as it worked on bridge replacement projects in Gallatin. “It is unfortunate to hear that it had to be used but great that it was there to help someone when they needed it,” wrote Sean McCarthy, a representative for the construction company, in an email.
“Prior to having the helipad we would land them in the fields here,” said Town Supervisor Colleen Lutz, who is a volunteer in the Ancram Fire Company and has assisted in medevac scenarios, setting up a clearly marked landing zones in fields, on roadways, and in flat open spaces clear of of powerlines and foliage.
But the winter can add another layer of complication. “Landing a helicopter in a field filled with snow is really difficult,” said Lutz. “You have to take someone on a stretcher across a field. It can be dangerous for both the responder and the patient.” During Brant’s case, Lutz was on her way back from Albany, and arrived in time to see the LifeNet helicopter lift off from the helipad.
When Town Board member David Boice spearheaded the effort last year to construct a helipad, he got a mixed reaction from the public. “A lot of people asked why we needed it,” said Boice at the Feb. 19 meeting. “It happens more than anybody knows, we’re landing helicopters multiple times a year,” he continued, referring to open-space landings. The helipad offers a much more reliable evacuation option year-round.
As Miller told the Herald, “If it saves one life, it’s worth it.”