CLINTON - Even though helicopters regularly have airlifted patients from Dr. John Warner Hospital to other facilities in emergencies, the hospital never has had a permanent heliport.

That soon may change.

The hospital board is proceeding with plans to build a heliport on a piece of city-owned property north of Woodlawn Cemetery in Clinton. Currently, helicopters land on a temporary pad on Kelly Court, but that location will be lost when the Clintonia Eagle Theater opens this summer.

"We need to place a permanent 40-foot-by-40-foot pad with appropriate lighting and a directional wind sock, which are required by the FAA," hospital CEO Patty Luker said. "We looked at several locations in the area, and we believe this is the best of the possibilities."

The hospital and city would split the costs equally. Luker said the preliminary estimate is $30,000.

"We accidentally found a great deal with the Kelly Court location," board President Randy Workman said. "It was a nice area with easy access for both the ambulance and the helicopter and was close to the hospital. It's nice having a new theater in town, but unfortunately, we are going to lose our helipad as a result."

The location must be approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration, which means the hospital will have to look for alternatives when the theater opens in June or July.

Luker said the helipad is used about once a month.

"We really don't have a good answer for what we will do before the new heliport is ready," Luker said. "But we will have to designate an alternative location and let each of our helicopter services know where that will be."

In the past, the high school lawn has been used as an alternate helipad, but wet ground has created problems recently. About a month ago, the helicopter nearly was stuck in the mud, and one ambulance was.

The high school parking lot is not an option because of loose gravel.

Ambulance administrator Jim Kern said the ideal situation would be to have the heliport as close to the hospital as possible. The new location, about two miles from the hospital, should not cause problems.

"Generally, when we call for a helicopter, we have about 20 minutes to a half-hour, anyway," Kern said. "That gives us plenty of time to have a crew go out, turn on the lights and prepare for the helicopter."

The FAA, DOT and Clinton City Council all must approve the site.

Kevin Barlow can be reached at kbarlow@ pantagraph.com.