(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Ben Tompkins

Twin Lakes District Planning Commission pushing for Nipawin Heliport

Nov 1, 2023 | 4:09 PM

The Twin Lakes District Planning Commission (TLDPC) is looking to get its heliport project at the Nipawin Hospital, back on track.

Originally, the TLDPC initiated the project back in 2020 (pre-COVID), however, the pandemic shut their efforts down and they were stalled out.

Now, with some new committee members, a lot of traction and interest has been gained, thanks in large part to the very aggressive and strong support from each of the involved communities.

As of today, participating municipalities include towns of Carrot River, Codette, Nipawin, Choiceland, White Fox and Tobin Lake, and the Rm’s of Moose Range, Nipawin and Torch River.

All of them have come together to host a fundraising launch event on Nov. 6 (Monday) at the Nipawin Evergreen Centre, which will begin at 7 p.m.

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The plan is to introduce everyone involved (committee members and already agreed upon donors) and outline the need and the goal that they have set to administer the fundraising for the Heliport, as well as have a brief presentation from STARS.

Back in 2018, the need for a heliport was identified when dealing with the Humboldt Broncos tragedy.

Although STARS crews were able to land on the highway and transport the most critically injured patients directly to Saskatoon, the remainder of the players that came to Nipawin Hospital for treatment had to rely on road ambulance to drive them back out to the Nipawin Airport for transfer, either by another STARS helicopter or Air Ambulance.

According to the TLDPC, inquiries have shown that only having the Nipawin Airport as a landing site adds approximately nine to 12 minutes to the transport of patients needing to be flown out to larger acute care facilities.

“These crucial minutes could mean the difference between saving a life or not,” read their pamphlet.

When the project was first proposed three years ago, project costs were estimated in the $450,000-$500,000 range, but since then, that number has risen closer to $650,000.

TLDPC has already invested roughly $11,000 into the initial testing of the ground area, soil, etc. and consulted with Transport Canada on the validity and safety of the proposed heliport landing site.

Meanwhile, the Town of Nipawin received a large sum of money from the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation to be used for the construction of a heliport.

Additionally, the nine affiliated municipalities have been raising funds for the project since its initiation.

If donations go over what is needed for the project, TLDPC has vowed to donate any remaining funds after the project is completed equally to the Northeast Regional Health Foundation and STARS.

Once a heliport is complete, maintenance and operation costs would fall onto Transport Canada.

Those looking to donate (tax-deductible receipts will be available) can contact the TLDPC at twinlakes.secretary@nipawin.com.

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news@northeastNOW.com

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