Children's Memorial (New) Hospital Update: Heliport Needs Your Help

As most of my local friends have heard, Children's Memorial Hospital is getting set to build a new state-of-the-art facility in downtown Chicago, adjacent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Prentice Women's Hospital.

This is terribly exciting for so many reasons. To mention just two: Women like me would be only a wheelchair ride from their child in special care, as opposed to the 3 mile separation I suffered for several days after Charlotte was born. And, as children with diseases like spina bifida and CF live into adulthood, the pediatric specialists can work with the adult specialists on research and care. As we like to say in pediatric philanthropy, it's a "terrible" and exciting problem to have--children living into adulthood with diseases that formerly killed at young ages.

Children's is a trauma center as well as the finest pediatric hospital in Illinois. Our heliport helps us save lives of children who need our services by allowing their quick, safe, critical transport to the hospital.

Neighbors of our new location are protesting and blocking the heliport. Some of their objections?
Noise at night. CMH receives on average 6 heliport transports a month. Most of them arrive during daylight hours. Think about it--many critical injuries are due to school sports and daytime events.

Helicopter accidents. Of course, given the Michigan organ transplant accident this summer, we appreciate this concern. However, the Children's Service Board Children's Memorial Hospital Transport Team has never had an accident. Medical transport accidents are rare.

What would you want to do if it were your sick/injured child or grandchild? Rely on an ambulance or a helicopter to get her the best help as quickly as possible.

Sadly, Chicago politicians are more focused on the location of our Children's Museum right now.

Please, help us refocus their attention. Take a moment to click here and read the brief page at the CMH website about the heliport. You can download a customizable letter to send to your local alderman, city council, or legislator.

I ask not for me and Charlotte, but for your children and grandchildren, your kids' playmates, and any child in Illinois. They all deserve the best medical attention we can give them and they deserve to receive it in a timely fashion.

Thank you.