CLINTON—Among the things for which Clinton is known outside its borders, one probably isn’t well known by most of the residents living within: Clinton’s city-owned Dr. John Warner Hospital and Clinton’s medical community offer excellent health care.

One example and a reason: U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson elected to have an invasive procedure done there. The Illinois Department of Transportation in May named the Clinton heliport built during the spring/summer of 2008 as best in the state.

It’s not easy tying a surgical procedure with helicopters, but diverse as the two are, they illustrate the same conclusion.

Rep. Johnson

When Rep. Johnson came to town recently, it wasn’t just to have a town meeting. He also scheduled a colonoscopy at Dr. John Warner Hospital. The congressman, who is 63, could have scheduled the procedure in any number of places, including his home community of Champaign-Urbana, or in Wash. D.C.

Jerry Clark, chief of staff for Johnson said the congressman chose DJWH because he knows Dr. Sidney Rohrscheib, formerly on staff at DJWH and now proprietor of Illinois Bariatric Center.

Further, he respects Dr. Gill a former emergency room physician at the hospital and twice a Democrat running against Johnson for Congress. Gill made health care reform a major part of his campaign, and Clark said Johnson knew Gill wouldn’t work any place that didn’t have high quality standards.

Johnson believes Clinton has great health care to offer, Clark said.

Heliport

Gary D. Stevens is flight safety coordinator for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics. Stevens said that the Clinton heliport was named best in the state for a number of reasons. Of course, it’s brand new, not even a year old, but the heliport won the honor for it’s design and location and because IDOT was impressed with the community support that resulted in its creation.

After years of talking to the hospital and city officials, the new heliport was built just north of Memorial Park Cemetery.

Previously helicopters landed in a cul-de-sac at the end of Kelly Court. Not only was it a far cry from ideal, the property is targeted for development. After years of government encouragement to do so, hospital and city administrators were proactive in getting a new one built.

It is a bit farther away from the hospital, but that disadvantage is offset by providing two paved approaches set 90 degrees apart, with clearance from obstacles. Pilots can control the lighting as they approach and a windsock provides additional visibility.

“This is a vast improvement” over Kelly Court, said Stevens. Joe Albonese, who is the director of ambulance service, agrees. “It really is a benefit,” he said and added that he was “appreciative of the city’s assistance with that.”

Building an official heliport put it on the radar of both IDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There are 140 hospital heliports in Illinois, and being with the big boys means the landing could be a lifesaver for a pilot needing to make an emergency landing.

Stevens said cooperation and coordination with the FAA and IDOT, safety record and maintenance are factors in naming Clinton No. 1, but Stevens said those who made the choice were particularly “impressed with the community effort.”

Triple K was awarded the bid to billed the concrete surface of the helipad and Kinder, Light, Communication & Power supplied the electrical lighting and communication device for the radio communication to the helicopter., said Tim Followell, administrative assistant for the city. The hospital and the city split the cost of the concrete portion but Kinder put the electrical in at no cost to the city. The city bought the equipment and he installed it.

As a result, more and more helicopters are landing in Clinton. Mostly, they are there to transport a patient to a larger hospital. If time is of the essence, a helicopter is certainly the faster method, although not all patients are good candidates for air transport. If they need compressions, for example, that can’t be done in the air as it destabilizes the ’copter.

There are two primary air medical services that use the heliport, though others do as well.

ARCH Air Medical Service is a critical care air ambulance service originally based in St. Louis, but now based in Colorado. Arch provides coverage for Missouri, Illinois and the surrounding regions.

Air Evac EMS Inc., which operates Air Evac Lifeteam and Texas LifeStar, is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air medical service in the United States, operating at more than 85 air bases across 14 states.

Only three other hospitals in Illinois are city-owned, according to the Illinois Hospital Association.