Local business owner donates $60,000 to improve helipad at Headwaters hospital

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

 President of Devonleigh Homes, Andrew Kidd, has made a generous donation of $60,000 to reconstruct the Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC) Helipad and the Intensive Care Ramp.

Headwaters continues to improve their facility and health care through the help of the community. 

The Headwaters Health Care Foundation held an intimate reveal of the newly constructed helipad and Intensive Care Ramp on Oct. 29, with attendees including Dufferin paramedics, Andrew Kidd himself and members of the Foundation board, as well as Dufferin County Paramedics Services Chief Tom Reid.

“The heliport here at Headwaters is a vital and crucial component of our emergency response and transportation of critically injured or ill patients. Through our partnerships with Ornge and provincial trauma centres, this service provides our community reliable, responsive and safe access to world class healthcare when they need it the most,” says Reid. 

Director of Flight Operations at Ornge, Peter Cunnington was also a guest on Tuesday. Being a front-line pilot for 10 years, he expressed first-hand the importance of a hospital having a quality helipad

“The helipad, believe it or not, is usually the last on the list of priorities at most health care centres. We often get neglected,” explains Cunnington. “To see this commitment to the safe infrastructure for the helicopter is really inspiration for me personally on behalf of Ornge, I want to thank Headwaters, the staff and generous donors to continue to make things like this.”

The Helipad is a vital service for the Headwaters Hospital as it is the transportation for urgent transports from Sick Kids Hospital for other trauma patients.

Andrew Kidd and Devonleigh homes have consistently been supporting the Foundation. 

“After visiting Headwaters Hospital, it was an honour to contribute towards the rebuilding of the Helipad. This is an essential lifesaving service which must be preserved and kept in optimal condition,” Kidd said.

“This is a critical time in the Hospital's and the Foundation's evolution, the amount of growth across our catchment due to development and building has been astonishing, and Devonleigh Homes sees the importance of ensuring their clients, our patients, have the care and services they need, close to home,” says Foundation CEO, Dora Boylen-Pabst. “Projects such as this do not receive government funding, and as an organization, the hospital is dependent on the support of our community.”