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Noise from Helicopter Landings at Cottage Hospital Has Some Neighbors Fuming
The noise from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s helicopter landings prompted several residents from the surrounding neighborhood to voice their concerns at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
A helipad for trauma patients was implemented as part of recent hospital improvements and has been in operation since Feb. 3. Since then, 20 landings have taken place, and several neighbors asked the council on Tuesday for relief from the noise from the flight path.
The number of transports has been higher than expected, according to a statement from Cottage Hospital.
Resident Patricia Clark asked about updating the hospital’s environmental impact report regarding its trauma center and pediatric intensive care unit. She also expressed concern about the safety impact of having a helicopter land in a residential neighborhood.
“Apparently, the helicopter pilots have been told to be very mindful of the fact that there’s an MRI located in that building, which can screw up their navigational equipment,” she said. “I find that very disturbing.”
City Attorney Steve Wiley said the hospital’s EIR couldn’t be updated because it’s essentially a planning document.
“It’s a prediction,” he said. “It estimates what the number of flights may be. Once that project has been approved, it really isn’t feasible to revisit the document.”
Wiley said one alternative may be to factor in a new baseline of helicopter trips to any new approvals needed from the city on other hospital projects.
Tim King, a Quintos Street resident, had even gone so far as to call council members in the middle of the night when he heard helicopters overhead.
“It was totally frustrating to live in a house that we have for 20 years and have our neighborhood sound like the movie Apocalypse Now,” he said. “I hope the city didn’t give away all its power to Cottage Hospital to run this thing.”
King said that Cottage had been very gracious at its last community meeting, “but if you read between the lines, they’re big business and they’re going to make big money doing this.”
Cottage spokeswoman Janet O’Neil said the hospital is continuing to work with out-of area helicopter companies to ensure they understand the approved inward and outward flight path, which runs up and down the Highway 101 corridor and turns in at Junipero.
Pilots are to advise the hospital of their estimated times of arrival, not to refuel and then return to pick up the crew, and are to understand that there’s no hovering permitted in the area, O’Neil said.
“If it ever should be necessary for them to wait to land, they should do that out over the ocean or divert to SB Airport,” she said, adding that the frequency of landings appears to be leveling off, and has decreased from 11 landings during the first week to four last week. “We’re doing our best to save lives while respecting neighborhood concerns for noise.”
The hospital held a public forum on Feb. 13 to discuss the helicopter activity and plans to hold another at 6 p.m. March 13 in the Burtness Auditorium at the hospital. Anyone with questions or comments can call Cottage’s project management hot line at 805.569.8917.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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» on 02.29.12 @ 11:49 AM
Are these residents forgetting that these are trauma patients? I am sure if it was one of their family memebers it would be a different story. That’s the great thing about SB there will always be the people who just like to complain.
These people need to get real it’s about saving lives!!!!!
» on 02.29.12 @ 12:07 PM
Residents near cottage have always been affected in various ways by the noise and traffic associated with the hospital. It seems a reasonable accomodation to permit the critically ill the opportunity to receive vital treatment as quickly as possible. The exchange can be literally a life for an uninterrupted night’s sleep. I expect all of those complaining would consider their own life, or that of a loved one worth risking some annoyance to the neighborhood.
» on 02.29.12 @ 12:28 PM
Hey, self-absorption is practically a requirement for long term Santa Barbarians. You see, these folks know they’ll never need the chopper since they live so close to the hospital. So the IGMSEE (I’ve got mine, screw everyone else) attitude prevails.
» on 02.29.12 @ 12:45 PM
I cannot believe that I am reading this. People’s lives are hanging in the balance and a few selfish individuals are complaining abut their sleep.
If it wasn’t life or death they wouldn’t be getting flown to the hospital in the first place.
Shame on you.
» on 02.29.12 @ 02:21 PM
The Hospital was required to be rebuilt due to seismic issues with the original building. The hospital came up with several proposals; the cheapest and most efficient was a new 8 story building on a one block site. Building height limits and screams from surrounding neighbors got that proposal thrown out very quickly. The other proposals all involved various configurations under current building height limits spreading the hospital over 3 to 4 blocks. This meant instead of having one building 100 feet tall blocking your view with a helipad at 100 feet above street level you ended up with the great wall of Santa Barbara, a two block long wall 60 to 79 feet tall and a helipad 40 feet closer to the street. And the result, they still complain. Go live in Palm Springs, please, you have done enough damage here.
» on 02.29.12 @ 02:35 PM
I can’t believe that there is such an uproar! How horribly sad that someone could possibly loose their life because it’s “too noisy” for life saving copters to land. They should thank Cottage Hospital for allowing such a wonderful service to the community.
» on 02.29.12 @ 07:42 PM
I thank the residents near Cottage because they will bear far more inconvenience with the heliport than anyone else. Indeed, the heliport will save lives by delivering seriously ill patients to Cottage sooner. Cottage may have underestimated the amount of helicopter traffic either innocently or as a ruse to get the construction approvals. I hope that the accommodations being made by the hospital like setting the flight path and discouraging hovering will reduce the inconvenience faced by area residents who already deal with ambulance sirens. Thanks again for this unavoidable inconvenience. Lives are being saved and disabilities are being minimized.
» on 02.29.12 @ 11:55 PM
Yes, we all know that those who live near Cottage will never travel outside of their neighborhood, and will never get in a twisted car wreck, or fall while hiking in the wilderness. Therefore, I suggest they move said heliport to another hospital, and force the complainers to sign an agreement to never ever ride on one to save their own skins…fair enough…
» on 03.01.12 @ 02:56 AM
To all those who placed a comment! You must be staff who work for the hospital because I don’t believe a local will write any of these sick comments! First of all you are talking about saving lives; you need to do your home work; COTTAGE HOSPITAL once upon a time was about saving lives! The new wing was built for those with $$$ NOT for any One else… Once upon a time they cared about peoples lives not anymore if one has a mental issue they DO NOT GET PAST THE ER room anymore. And I was denied service after my second visit! The x-rays I was suppose to receive did not happen! And SHAME ON THE SO CALLED NEW hospital that did not make a room for even an out patient who has mental issues! So sad, so about the noise YOU try staying near the hospital, but like I said you must be a staff member! The compassion and caring of cottage is gone too! Every-time a friend stays there their belongings are stolen by the staff! So sad!So about saving lives remember they are for people who can afford it, not those who live here locally! They should get transported to the Goleta air-port and an ambulance should be waiting! Its is so ridiculous how the hospital went over the top to change the so called security because of a child taken; instead the door that goes into the nursery should have been build differently and a security perhaps there but not on every floor what a waste of money that could have been used for those in need, especially with mental illness! SHAME ON YOU!!! You forget this is Santa Barbara NOT L.A. or Beverly Hills!!!
» on 03.01.12 @ 03:12 AM
TO ELISA BUTTE 58 do your home work where and when has cottage hospital helped the community with service! You really need to do your home work and find out that c h does nothing for those who are locals especially those with a mental illness!!! You are in the dark…of the truth about the hospital…sooo sad.
» on 03.01.12 @ 10:21 AM
It appears that triage is not a lost art at Cottage.
» on 03.01.12 @ 12:27 PM
Lynnda Rae perhaps you need to look at the big picture instead of your own experience which is unfortunate. They are discussing the helipad and noise level. The soul purpose of the helipad is to transport trauma patients as quickly as possible for treatment. How can anyone in their right mind complain? We are talking about saving lives! And for your information I do not work for the hospital. I am someone who is very grateful that we have the services that Cottage provides to our community.
» on 03.01.12 @ 04:50 PM
My personal experience with Cottage Hospital ER and eye clinic have been excellent. Is someone confusing Cottage with a homeless shelter?
» on 03.01.12 @ 06:14 PM
Cottage was WELL aware of the noise of a helicopter and it is
loud. I live a half mile from GVCH. One can hear the approach two miles away. I cannot recall anyone dying because of the ambulance ride from GVCH to Cottage ER. With sirens going it should take seven minutes. Cottage was not honest with the surrounding community nor the city. Certainly they have been uncooperative concerning the power pole that was erected without thought for the Quote “Staff Housing” on St Francis Hospital Property. Anyone hear of consulting the neighbors in planning such an important aspect. That was not addressed in any of the information meetings. The least Cottage should do is offer to install double glass sound barrier windows and insulation which might do some sound suppression.
» on 03.01.12 @ 11:06 PM
I have spoken to Diana Thorne and AN50 and the helicopter traffic at night is almost all black helicopters that spy on citizens.
» on 03.02.12 @ 04:05 AM
SUSIEQ you must NOT have lived here in S.B. for a long time…Because if so, you would know the truth about cottage hospital! and for those who have had a good experience, so have I in the past; but if you are not wealthy and or if you lose your job or find yourself with no health insurance YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT, ALSO the hospital is not about helping people as much as once upon a time but only about $$$ Also about the noise from a helicopter is a huge difference from a siren, for those who remember the fires a few years ago will remember hearing them all night long it was terrifying and horrible, sounds like a war zone! THIS IS S.B. not L.A. I don’t understand where all these people are coming from with all of these so called good ideas! So sad, and what a joke!SHAME ON COTTAGE HOSPITAL for not telling the truth about the plans they had in mind.
Perhaps you should all attend a supervisors meetings to hear facts about cottage hospital from locals! Until you know I am sure it will make a difference.
» on 03.02.12 @ 04:41 PM
There’s a quick, easy way to assess how noisy the choppers are, and to develop
alternate procedures.
Create a “secure” list-serve site for air-medical evac pilots, with the GIS-GPS for
the homes of Cottage CEO Ron Werft, the Cottage chief of staff, the SB City
Manager, and City Attorney Steve Wiley.
On a rotating basis, ask every incoming helicopter to “stage” (hover) over their
homes, while waiting for final, verbal clearance to approach and land at Cottage.
After a couple of weeks of absorbing the alleged “impact” of that noise(?), and
having their families’ sleep disrupted, I predict all the key players will find a
quieter, more equitable approach.
» on 03.03.12 @ 03:21 PM
The people of SB are by far the whiniest, self centered people I have ever seen. Complaining about a helicopter providing emergency treatment is ridiculous. Time is critical in situations where lives are at stake.
» on 03.03.12 @ 05:00 PM
SB managed without direct helicopter service until now - as someone said, a few minutes ambulance ride from SB Airport to Goleta Cottage or SB Cottage is what has been eliminated. I imagine much of the enthusiasm for the helicopter service is that the air-ambulance company(s) getting a bunch of business they can bill for. What check is there to mitigate simply declaring that it would be “better” to have an air evac rather than an ambulance ride in most every case?
» on 03.04.12 @ 01:15 AM
This really comes down to one thing.
Someone here and there needing their LIFE saved or someone being inconvenienced for 10 minutes (I hear you, it could be in the middle of the night) - 2 times a month. life is too short to be that selfish.
» on 03.04.12 @ 03:43 PM
This is totally ridiculous. Helicopters are one of the most dangerous conveyances in regular use. They are rebuilt completely every 1000 hours of use as routine maintenance.
Helicopters should take off and land at the airport, and maybe the Goleta Cottage facility should house the emergency trauma care. Unless the 217 is clogged (a rare occurrence) people can be receiving excellent emergency all the way to the hospital.
The idea that residential neighborhoods should be subjected to helicopter overflights is insane. It is unsafe, and it certainly detracts very significantly from the rights of neighbors to enjoy their homes.
» on 03.06.12 @ 02:05 AM
Helicopters are indeed dangerous - to the extent that I believe there’s no longer any regularly scheduled helicopter passenger service anywhere in the United States. Medical helicopter flights are also markedly unsafe - when you couple the “normal” aspects of flying a helicopter with the urgency associated with a medical flight, you have a bad combination. See what the NTSB reports on medical helicopter accident rates - 11 fatal accidents just from 2007 -> 2009.
» on 03.06.12 @ 03:24 PM
Either do as Rambler suggested and move the trauma care to Goleta or allow helicopters to land at SB. Anyone who thinks it’s a few minutes ride between the airport and the SB hospital obviously hasn’t been stuck on our local rolling parking lot, formerly known as a freeway or worse SB’s purposely congested surface streets.. It’s far less dangerous to land a helicopter at a hospital than driving an ambulance through rush hour traffic. BTW – nice stats on helicopter safety Menchar, but to be fair look at ambulance accident rates for the same period (hint there were 110 in ground transport). An even better stat would be the accident rate per mile, where the ground transport services are 10 times higher than air. That’s one of the biggest reasons more EMS services are going to air. People have to get away from the lopsided imagery for air travel. A plane crashes killing all 179 aboard once a year and everyone panics, but no one gives the 50,000 slaughtered on our highways another thought.
» on 03.07.12 @ 07:35 PM
Bishop ANchove, the 217 is rarely, if ever, jammed. That is the route, about 2 miles, from SB Airport to Goleta Cottage.
The area around Cottage Hospital is densely populated. Helicopters have a fatal injury rate of about 2 per 100,000 hours flown, which is much higher than for fixed-wing, especially when you take into account the difference in average passenger loads.
As most pilots will tell you, the most dangerous parts of the flight are taking off and landing. The area around Cottage Hospital is densely populated. It is not fair to endanger people in their houses, just to get an individual into an OR a little sooner.
As to the noise, I can tell you that you can feel a low-flying helicopter as much as hear it. You do not sleep through that thumping. It induces stress and fatigue, even in highly-trained soldiers. What it does to taxpaying citizens trying to sleep and rest up for another productive day of work is, well, just plain un-American.
» on 03.07.12 @ 08:54 PM
Like I said the solution is easy. Move the trauma care facility to Goleta as you suggested. They will also have a helipad and that is much better than a ride from the airport. Ground transport is far more risky because it involves far more vehicles vying for the same space. The 217, my friend, is backed up everyday from 101 to half a mile past the Hollister off ramp from UCSB faculty, who seem to think staggered work shifts and alternative transportation only applies to the private sector or students.
The problem isn’t the location it is ego and SB has way too much of that. As I mentioned earlier the hospital project in SB was screwed from the beginning by stupid land wasting, efficiency screwing, building heights, where care of patients was second to protecting some idiotic phantom view. That pissed me off to begin with. Demolishing the old St Francis hospital for stick and stucco condos was the second. At every turn this hospital project has convulsed over cost overruns and petty shallow architectural standards, mostly foisted on it by the community. Now we have this dopy helicopter debacle.
I swear some one ought to be tarred and feathered for how this was managed. I hope in your case you do not live under the behemoth. If so, you have my deepest sympathies.
» on 03.08.12 @ 12:25 AM
We agree. Somebody mark this post!
» on 03.08.12 @ 09:26 PM
I know, it’s rare, don’t let it happen again. Besides, we threw enough crap at each other today to make up for it.
» on 03.09.12 @ 04:12 PM
The fatal accident rate per trip for medical helicopters is enormously higher than the per trip rate for a ground ambulance, which is all that matters to the parties involved - what does it matter how long the trip was, you’re still dead.
Landing at a helipad on top of a building is also significantly more dangerous than landing a helicopter at an airport, which after all, is designed for aircraft take off and landing.
While it is true that there will be incidents where a medical flight will save lives, I simply don’t believe it’s at the rate Cottage is seeing. Where is the evidence that the cottage helipad saves lives compared to landing at SBA and a ground ambulance to Goleta Hospital or even to Cottage?
» on 03.12.12 @ 09:51 PM
Menchar, where did you get your data? The research I did showed the exact opposite. Yes the fatality rate is high for helicopter landings on roof tops but for ground transport it is much, much higher on a per mile basis. It shows you would be far better off in a helicopter than an ambulance on the ground.
» on 03.24.12 @ 02:30 AM
AN50 HATS OFF TO YOU!!! I agree with you all the way!
I “STRONGLY” agree with you about the Saint Frances Hospital ! What a SHAME and a mistake to get rid of it! They had great staff and everything about it was much more better than cottage hospital! Who is in charge of these so called brilliant ideas? So sad!!!
Cottage hospital clearly said the use of the helicopters was about bringing in more $$$ NOT about saving lives read the article again those who are thinking its all about saving lives!
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