BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1272
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 11, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 1272 (Hill) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT : Emergency medical services: trauma center:
helicopter landing pad
SUMMARY : Prohibits the Emergency Medical Services System and
Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act (EMS Act), and
two sections of the State Aeronautics Act (Aeronautics Act),
from being construed as authorizing a county to prohibit a
trauma center from installing a helicopter landing pad at or
near its facility for the purpose of receiving emergency trauma
care patients.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits, under the EMS Act, a county, upon the recommendation
of its local emergency medical services agency (LEMSA), to
adopt ordinances governing the transport of a patient who is
receiving care in the field from prehospital emergency medical
personnel, when the patient meets specific criteria for
trauma, burn, or pediatric centers adopted by the LEMSA.
2)Prohibits the EMS Act from being construed as restricting the
use of a helicopter of the California Highway Patrol (CHP)
from performing missions which CHP determines are in the best
interests of the people of the state of California.
3)Makes it unlawful, under the State Aeronautics Act, for any
political subdivision, or any person, to operate an airport
unless an appropriate airport permit required by rule of the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been
issued by Caltrans and has not subsequently been revoked.
4)Prohibits, under the State Aeronautics Act, a political
subdivision, or any person, from submitting any application
for the construction of a new airport to any local, regional,
state, or federal agency unless the plan for construction is
first approved by the board of supervisors of the county, or
the city council of the city, in which the airport is to be
located and unless the plan is submitted to the airport land
use commission, and acted upon by that commission in
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accordance with specified provisions of existing law.
5)Permits a county board of supervisors or a city council to
delegate its responsibility under 4) above for the approval of
a construction plan of new helicopter landing and takeoff
areas to the county or city planning agency.
6)Permits, under the State Aeronautics Act, an officer
authorized by a public safety agency, at or as near as
practical to the site of a medical emergency and at a medical
facility, to designate an area for the landing and taking off
of an emergency service helicopter, in accordance with
regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
PURPOSE OF THE BILL : According to the author, patient survival
rates are significantly improved with the use of air ambulance
services, and rural communities and high traffic zones depend on
air ambulances to immediately deliver a patient to the
appropriate hospital. Additionally, the author states many
rural hospitals use air ambulances to deliver patients to
tertiary care centers that can appropriately treat a patient in
crisis when the rural hospital does not have the services
available to treat the patient. Air ambulances ensure that
traumatically injured patients can receive care in the time
period immediately following traumatic injury referred to as the
"golden hour" where lives can be saved if treatment is
immediately provided.
The author states that, in some communities throughout
California, hospitals have been unable to secure a permit for a
helipad through their local governing board, including trauma
hospitals in Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara
counties. In some cases, the author states, neighborhoods
concerned about noise have blocked the addition of this critical
service through the county board of supervisors' approval
process or through the local land use process. In these
incidents, the author argues neighborhood concerns about noise
have taken precedence over the health needs of the community.
In addition, the author argues this bill will protect current
hospital helicopter landing pads as hospitals retrofit or
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rebuild their buildings to meet state seismic safety
requirements for hospitals.
BACKGROUND : This bill affects helicopter landing pads at trauma
centers. Caltrans data indicates there are currently 145
approved helicopter landing pads that have received a permit
from Caltrans at 138 hospitals (seven hospitals have more than
one helicopter landing pad permit). According to the state
Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA), there are currently
63 trauma centers in California, 49, or 76.7% which have
helicopter landing pads. All trauma centers are licensed acute
care hospitals designated by a LEMSA as a trauma center. Trauma
centers must have personnel, services, and equipment necessary
for the care of trauma patients. General requirements for all
trauma centers include a trauma program medical director and a
trauma nurse coordinator, a basic emergency department (at
minimum), a multidisciplinary trauma team, and specified service
capabilities. Trauma center designations include Levels I - IV
(with Level I being the highest) and Level I and II pediatric
(pediatric specific trauma facilities).
In trauma care, the "golden hour" is the brief window of time in
which the lives of a majority of critically injured trauma
patients can be saved if appropriate treatment is provided. The
golden hour provides 60 minutes from the moment of injury, to
call 911, dispatch an ambulance, transport the victim to a
trauma center, and perform the necessary, life-saving
intervention. Trauma is the leading cause of death among those
under 44 years of age. More than 145,000 people die in the
United States from traumatic injury each year, and another nine
million suffer disabling injuries.
HELICOPTER LANDING PAD REQUIREMENTS : Hospitals seeking to build
a helicopter landing pad must have the approval of OSHPD (which
approves hospital construction), and must obtain a heliport site
permit from Caltrans. To obtain a heliport site permit,
hospitals must provide the following:
1)Two copies of scaled drawings of the heliport and adjoining
areas.
2)Topographic map that shows the location of the approach
surfaces relative to the heliport.
3)Local area map or drawing depicting the heliport and the
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location of schools, places of public gathering, and
residential areas within 1,000 feet of the center of a
proposed heliport.
4)Documentation of approval of the plan for construction by
either the board of supervisors of the county or the city
council of the city (as appropriate) in which the heliport is
to be located.
5)Documentation of action by the Airport Land Use Commission of
the county in which the heliport is to be located (as
appropriate).
6)Documentation of compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act.
7)Documentation showing ownership of the heliport.
8)A Federal Aviation Administration Airspace Determination
regarding the heliport.
SUPPORT : Health care providers, including the California
Hospital Association (CHA), the California Ambulance
Association, the California Emergency Nurses Association (CENA)
and the California Medical Association (CMA) write in support
that helicopters are an important part of the emergency response
system and provide ready access to trauma care centers,
particularly in rural areas of the state. CHA and CENA argue
this bill will save lives by allowing public health priorities
to factor into the approval process for helicopter landing pads
at hospitals. CMA states this bill will ensure patient access
to trauma services, will improve patient outcomes through the
proper utilization of air ambulance services, and argues that it
is critical that patients have access to air-medical transport
and that trauma hospitals have helipads.
AUTHOR'S AMENDMENTS : As drafted, this bill prohibits the EMS
Act and the State Aeronautics Act from being construed to
authorize a county to prohibit a trauma center from installing a
helicopter landing pad at or near the facility for the purpose
of receiving trauma care patients. The bill will be amended to
extend its provisions to apply also to cities .
DOUBLE REFERRAL : This bill was heard in the Assembly Health
Committee and passed out on unanimous vote.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Ambulance Association
California Association of Air Medical Services
California Emergency Nurses Association
California Hospital Association
California Medical Association
California Shock Trauma Air Rescue
Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association of
California (support as amended)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS / (916) 319-2093