While Alex Abbott was airlifted to Sunnybrook a decade before the rooftop helipad was complete, he can see its significance.

“As someone with a partial spinal cord injury that could have become a complete injury, I know any movement during a transfer from helicopter to hospital is precarious at best. From what I’ve heard, the new helipad gets people into care faster without multiple transfers. That’s amazing.”

Dr. Homer Tien agrees.

As a Sunnybrook trauma surgeon and newly appointed president and CEO of Ornge, which coordinates Ontario’s air ambulance system, Dr. Tien knows the difference minutes can make.

The rooftop helipad means patients are an elevator ride away from the trauma bay, Ross Tilley Burn Centre, operating rooms, critical care unit or neonatal intensive care unit. Transfers take less than two minutes.

“From a trauma surgeon’s standpoint, I am grateful to see how the rooftop helipad gets a patient that much more quickly to life-saving care at Sunnybrook,” says Dr. Tien, who has had a distinguished 29-year career as a frontline military physician. “From my perspective at Ornge, I see its value for the entire region. Helicopter crews tell me how much they appreciate being able to move unstable patients straight into the hospital.”

Of the more than 2,000 critically injured patients treated at Sunnybrook’s Tory Trauma Program, the largest in Canada, at least a quarter arrive by air ambulance from across the province.

Made possible in large part thanks to generous donors, including Gelato Cup Golf and The Rudolph P. Bratty Family Foundation, the rooftop helipad features a 75-square-foot aluminum platform that stays free of ice and snow through heat-activating sensors. A covered walkway protects patients and paramedics after they disembark.

Sunnybrook still maintains its original helipad. Unique in Canada, the two-pad system ensures Sunnybrook is always there when it matters most.