RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HELIPAD FOR MEDICAL HELICOPTER USE AT SAN FRANCISCO GENERAL HOSPITAL AND ENCOURAGE ITS COMPLETION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME POSSIBLE

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, San Mateo County does not have a Level 1 Trauma Center and relies on San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) and Stanford Medical Center to accept victims of major trauma incidents in San Mateo County, and since 1998, SFGH has served as the Level I Trauma Center for the northern portion of San Mateo County; and

WHEREAS, medical helicopter service is widely accepted as an industry standard in trauma care, and the medical helicopters and hospital-based helipads are critical resources for large-scale disasters such as earthquakes, fires, explosions, transit crashes and terrorist attacks; and

WHEREAS, the Helipad project underway in San Francisco will be built largely by private funding committed by the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation; and

WHEREAS, the use of medical helicopters has proved to be a vital resource in the San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services system and medical helicopter access has received the support of the San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services Director and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department; and

WHEREAS, San Mateo County works diligently to protect the public health of its residents and medical helicopter access to SFGH could more efficiently help save the lives and help improve the standard of life for those injured in a traumatic accident in the northern end of San Mateo County,

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo

SUPPORTS the construction of a helipad for medical helicopter use at San Francisco General Hospital; and

ENCOURAGES the completion and implementation of a medical helipad at San Francisco General Hospital in the shortest amount of time possible to improve trauma care for those injured in San Mateo County and to raise the preparedness of our region to effectively coordinate our multi-casualty and disaster responses.

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