Photo by Shelley Hanson HealthNet Aeromedical Services President and CEO Clinton Burley, left, and WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital President and CEO Douglass Harrison cut the celebratory ribbon with giant scissors at the new helipad behind Reynolds on Friday.

GLEN DALE — Instead of having to land in a grassy and sometimes muddy field, medical helicopters now have a sturdy and stable concrete pad to use behind WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital.

A ribbon cutting to celebrate the new helipad was held Friday at the site with WVU Medicine officials, HealthNet Aeromedical Services officials and several local dignitaries in attendance.

Douglass Harrison, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial and Wheeling hospitals, said the helipad is more than just a slab of concrete in a field.

“This helipad — it may look like a plain cement pad where a helicopter can land, but it’s really about a transformation of clinical services,” he said. “At Reynolds Hospital if you would have told me back in 2016 that we would actually have inbound flights coming to Reynolds Hospital for services, we at WVU Medicine would have laughed.

“But that’s exactly what’s happening now,” Harrison continued. “We’re having inbound flights, we have outbound flights to our partners within WVU Medicine and delivering high-quality patient care, and we couldn’t do it without the partnership with HealthNet.”

Harrison said HealthNet has been a partner for WVU Medicine for a number of years.

“We thank them for their commitment to patient care and what they do each and every day,” he said.

Harrison also thanked the Glen Dale Baseball and Softball Association for their partnership as the helipad is located just beyond the ballfields’ outfields.

WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital has been undergoing a lot of needed changes and upgrades since WVU Medicine took over.

“I don’t use the word transformation lightly. This has been a transformation of a hospital and a rebirth of a hospital,” Harrison said.

“This hospital back in 2016 when WVU Medicine (took over), there wasn’t a whole lot going on.

“And today it is a vibrant community asset that we are extremely proud of. This community should be very proud of what’s happening with the level of care.”

Clinton Burley, president and CEO of HealthNet, said the new helipad will provide a safe, solid location for the flight teams to use when transporting patients.

“It’s well lit at night, enhances safety of operations of flight, which is our overarching goal, and it provides quick access to the hospital without having to have an ambulance transport,” Burley said.

“It does a lot of good things for very sick people, and that’s what we’re here for; to get those folks well and get them back home. This is a big piece of that.”

Burley thanked and congratulated Harrison and WVU Medicine for its investment into the community hospital.

Glen Dale Mayor Janet Scott noted before the ceremony that she was glad to see another improvement happening at the hospital.

“I think it’s a wonderful addition to the … Reynolds campus to be able to safely land helicopters here,” Scott said.

“It’s a great addition to the services we provide and to provide the best next level of care to patients.”

Flight Nurse Amanda Zima noted having the helipad will improve services for patients.

“It was typically difficult to land and have the arrangements to have an ambulance here because they are all just as busy as we are,” Zima said. “This frees up the ambulance and we’re able to be self-sufficient.

“We can land, walk into the hospital, get the patient and transport them back to the helicopter. “It’s more expeditious.”

Zima, a St. Clairsville resident, said she enjoys being a flight nurse because she gets to help people in the Ohio Valley.

“Being a flight nurse is exhilarating,” she added.