Hospitals often overlook problem of rooftop helipads

Facilities frequently have to install costly filtration systems to keep exhaust out of air system.

From the Los Angeles Times

By Rong-Gong Lin II

For years, hospital officials across the nation have had to battle helicopter fumes getting sucked into ventilation systems from rooftop helipads.

The problem is so well-known that the Federal Aviation Administration warns against placing helipads near a building's air vents.

But officials from the Utah-based National EMS Pilots Assn., which includes cautions about the design flaw in a PowerPoint presentation, said the warning is too often overlooked.

"Some hospitals are unaware of the existence of the [FAA's recommendations] and hence are unaware of many of the best practices regarding design, safety and operations," the association said in a position statement submitted to a National Transportation Safety Board hearing earlier this week.

When fumes pour into hospitals, lab tests at several facilities have found that carbon monoxide levels do not approach toxic levels. Nonetheless, the odor can be an unpleasant experience, causing employees and patients to complain.

In those cases, facilities managers are asked to take whatever measures they can to solve the problem.

After fumes caused complaints at MetroHealth Center in Cleveland, in the 1990s, technicians installed tiny microphones on the helipad so that when the noise level indicated a helicopter was nearby, air intake vents would automatically shut off, spokeswoman Eileen Korey said. A $100,000 charcoal filtration system was added in 2006, and costs $10,000 a year to maintain.

The system dramatically reduced the odors, but the exhaust continues to waft in from time to time, depending on winds and frequency of flights, Korey said.

At Akron General Medical Center, located about 40 miles south of Cleveland, managers had to take a different approach after carbon filters failed to work.

"They just don't work very long. You have to keep replacing them," said Joe Plavecski, senior director of facilities management.

Instead, Plavecski had the air intakes moved higher than the helipad; placed fume sensors near the air handling units to automatically close them when they sense exhaust from an approaching helicopter; and installed a system that automatically switches the air system to temporarily circulate air, instead of pulling fresh air from outside, when helipad lights turn on as a helicopter approaches.

At Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which opened last year, architects designed an air intake system to keep exhaust from entering the hospital.

"Even so, we initially did experience problems with helicopter fumes," spokeswoman Roxanne Yamaguchi Moster said. The hospital had to retrofit four air handlers with carbon filters, designed to absorb the odors, at a cost of $60,000. The filters are expected to last for about a year, and will cost about $3,500 per filter to be replaced.

"We have had no reports of fumes since the carbon filters were installed," Moster said. "We are fairly confident that we have implemented an effective solution."