Seattle Children's could end reviews of helicopter landings: What we know
A viral social media post about helicopter landings at Seattle Children's hospital and neighbors who complain about the noise ignited days of public outcry, and could spark changes to the hospital's decades-old helipad permit.
The hospital and a neighborhood group announced their support for changing the 1992 document in a joint statement Friday, one day before a planned protest a block from the hospital.
What was announced Friday?
The Laurelhurst Community Council "agreed to fully support" Seattle Children's as it tries to get rid of a committee that reviews helicopter landings at the medical center, according to a Friday morning joint statement by the two organizations and Mayor Katie Wilson.
Council members pledged their support after meeting with hospital officials to "discuss a path forward," according to the statement.
I am grateful that there is a path forward to prioritize the needs of critically ill and acutely injured children," Wilson said in the statement. "This is the kind of solutions-focused partnership our city needs more of.
What is the Medical Review Committee?
The Medical Review Committee is a five-member watchdog group created in 1992 to ensure only helicopters carrying "the most critically ill or injured" patients land at Seattle Children's, as required by a conditional use permit issued that year authorizing the hospital's helipad.
The committee includes one neighborhood resident, one hospital representative, two pediatric physicians and a representative of Public Health - Seattle & King County.
Under the Department of Construction and Land Use permit, the helipad near the hospital's emergency room entrance may only be used for "the most critical and life-threatening medical emergencies." All other patients must land about one mile southwest, on a helipad at University of Washington's Graves Field, with ambulances transporting patients the rest of the way to the hospital.
The two-helipad system was created to mitigate residents' concerns about excessive noise and safety risks that could arise from helicopters landing and taking off so close to a densely populated neighborhood.
The Medical Review Committee meets twice per year to review all helicopter landings at the hospital and ensure they were all "appropriately directed." If their findings show the hospital's helipad is being overused, the Department of Construction and Land Use can suspend its permit.
Will Friday's announcement mean more helicopter landings at the hospital?
No changes had been made to the hospital's helipad permit by Friday afternoon, and it remains unclear whether any changes could result in more landings at Seattle Children's.
A Seattle Children's spokesperson said the hospital will ask the City Council and the Department of Construction and Inspection to approve dismantling the Medical Review Committee through a modification to the helipad permit. Approval from both agencies is required to make such a change.
Hospital officials expect the process will move quickly because of support city officials and neighbors showed for the plan, Morgan said.
How many landings happen at Seattle Children's helipad versus UW's?
In 2025, about 150 of the 220 Seattle Children's patients transported by helicopter - or about 68% - were dropped off at the hospital's helipad, according to hospital data. The 70 other patients were taken to UW's helipad first, then driven by ambulance to the hospital.
Nearly all of last year's landings involved patients 11 or younger, and about 26% involved newborn babies.
The vast majority of patients transported to Seattle Children's arrive by ambulance, with about six patients arriving per week by helicopter. Three or fewer of those landings are typically at the hospital's helipad, and nearly all of those patients are admitted to the intensive-care unit, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The number of helicopter landings at Seattle Children's helipad has increased by about 75% since 2016, while the number of patients flown to UW's helipad has risen by about 46% over the same period.
Why is this news now?
Controversy began stirring on April 28, as a since-deleted social media post criticizing the helipad policy started going viral.
Seattle Children's issued a statement later that day, saying ongoing efforts by some neighborhood residents to restrict the use of the hospital's helipad put "an unnecessary burden on the system."
Public scrutiny then zeroed in on the Laurelhurst Community Council, a group of residents living near the hospital that for decades has pushed to restrict the hospital's helipad use over noise and safety concerns.
The council released a statement May 1, saying it "fully supports helipad landings for all children requiring intensive and lifesaving care." Several days later, a flyer started circulating online for a protest against the council scheduled for Saturday morning, about a block from the hospital.
The council then released its joint statement with the hospital and Mayor Wilson on Friday.
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