George Washington University Hospital just got a renewal on its Level 1 Trauma Center verification — and now it wants a helipad on the southwest corner of the hospital to go with it.
“As a designated Level I trauma center, we have been exploring adding a helipad in order to better serve the critical and emergent needs of those in our area,” spokeswoman Susan Griffiths said. “A helipad would provide expedited and expanded access to the complex services we offer at our Center for Trauma and Critical Care for trauma patients across the D.C. region.”
Patients are currently taken either directly by ambulance to GW Hospital or are flown to the South Capitol Street Heliport near Nationals Park and then taken by ambulance to the hospital from there, Griffiths said. The issue will be discussed and voted on at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission forum April 19.
The move comes not long after the D.C. Council considered reversing a nearly 30-year-old ban that blocks hospitals in the District,…
