San Francisco Citizen

If you can tell the difference between the helipad-hating “Neighbors of SFGH” vs. the Stop the Helipad haters, well, then you’re one up on me. What they are, they’re a bunch of NIMBYs on a hill who don’t care how many people have died, and how many more will die, due to the lack of a helipad at San Francisco General Hospital. Anyway…

These hill-folk richers just had a party to raise money for their fight. [Oh, man, I've just discovered that writer Sajid Farooq yesterday posted "$100 Dinner Could Ground Pesky Lifesaving Helicopters*" over at NBC Bay Area, saving me the trouble of crafting a more complete post. Thanks, MSM! Click on over there for the deets.]

An artist’s conception of the “Neighbors” of San Francisco General Hospital having their high-rent lifestyles impinged upon by EMS flights buzzing about:

Lovey and Winston are not happy. 

Read on to see the fruits of the labors of the Stop the Helipad people:

“A head-on collision on the Golden Gate Bridge in May threw the evening commute into chaos and drew immediate cries for new safety measures. Lost in the flurry of traffic reports and debate about possible barriers, however, was the aftermath of the crash for the most seriously hurt victim. Dr. Grace M. Dammann had to be transported by helicopter about 25 miles to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek because San Francisco General Hospital lacks a helipad for its acclaimed Level 1 Trauma Center.”

Mmmm. According to an American College of Surgeons Consultation Survey of San Francisco General Hospital’s Trauma Program:

“The lack of a helipad and helicopter service is a major deficiency in providing optimal trauma care for San Francisco General Hospital and San Francisco. It is difficult to understand why a city the size of San Francisco does not have any medical air transport. The congested roads and bridges with the surrounding water make helicopter service an essential medical support service.”

Oh well, here’s another artist’s conception of what the next Neighbors of SFGH fun-raiser might look like, maybe down by the chopper-free Warm Water Cove off of 24th. I think Gilligan is the webmaster:

(Note Mary Ann in pigtails and high heels, you don’t see that look much these days.)

Obviously, NIMBYs are people too, and their concerns should be amplified and paid ‘tention to. But they go to far when they tell doctors how to save lives. We’re getting a pad at UCSF Mission Bay and we’ll, eventually, get another pad at the new and improved, earthquake-safe SFGH.

How many will die unecessarily until then?  

*”Pesky Lifesaving Helicopters” – Pwned! I’m still laughing.