Ajax Pickering Hospital - Community Update

February 2021

To support continued access to critical emergency air transport of patients, Lakeridge Health is making necessary improvements to its air ambulance helipad, located south of the Ajax Pickering Hospital.

The helipad is used to urgently transfer critically ill patients from the Ajax Pickering Hospital to other acute care facilities. Access to air ambulance transport is an essential part of delivering health care services to the Ajax and Pickering communities.

Planned Improvements

There are several planned improvements underway on the helipad site to meet current Transport Canada helipad certification requirements. This includes installing new asphalt pavement, repainting the heliport identification markings; relocation of 12 green lights and two floodlights, and installing a new wind direction indicator and a new safety fence.

Another important requirement is to expand the flight path options for inbound helicopters. This will impact a cluster of trees and shrubs located close to the helipad on the southwest side of the hospital property. Over the years since the helipad was installed, this treed area has grown significantly and is now identified as a risk to safe landings. Based on Transport Canada’s certification requirements, we must proceed with harvesting and pruning a select number of trees and surrounding undergrowth in this area.

To guide this effort, a certified local arborist was engaged to complete a thorough assessment to identify those trees closest to the helipad that will need to be removed or pruned to ensure the canopy height complies with Transport Canada safety requirements. Further, we have asked for support in a re-plantation plan to replace the trees removed with species which will support the natural environment and remain within the height parameters to provide a safe flight path.

We are fully committed to preserving as much of this green space as possible, as well as replanting new trees that complement the area. We will create a tree maintenance plan to keep remaining trees healthy and sustainable.

Community Garden

In the spring we are planning to move forward with a new Community Garden, to be situated just north of the treed area and south of the west hospital driveway entrance of the hospital. Spearheaded by the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation and its volunteers, this project has been in the planning stages for several months and delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A wonderful new addition to our hospital property, the new community garden will be visible from patient rooms and accessible for the community to experience and enjoy. We look forward to keeping you updated on this exciting initiative.

Questions or Comments

We are committed to maintaining and optimizing the greenspace surrounding the hospital while we continue to grow, expand, and add new health care services to better support the community.

Should you have questions, please contact Lakeridge Health by email at Communications@lh.ca or call 905-576-8711 ext. 34319.

(Read the Letter to the Community in PDF)