This week, The Stranger‘s comment section was all about one thing: the Laurelhurst Community Council’s agreement with Seattle Children’s Hospital to limit how many helicopters can land on the hospital’s roof, carrying sick and injured children.
We heard from everyone: protestors, medical professionals, parents, and residents of Laurelhurst who were also pissed about this arrangement.
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Laurelhurst Community Council Isn’t Sure Helicopters Need to Land Sick Kids at the Hospital
They Took Down Their Website, But Not Before We Downloaded Their Meeting Minutes
By Nathalie Graham
Last week, thanks to a post on X and Reddit, it seemed like the whole city learned at once that for the last 30 years, the Laurelhurst Community Council has had an agreement with Seattle Children’s Hospital to limit the number of medevac helicopter landings could happen on the hospitals roof. Only the most severe cases could land there. The rest, they agreed, would land a mile away at UW’s helipad, and an ambulance would bring the sick or injured child the rest of the way to the hospital (adding extra time and cost to their transportation).
Stranger deputy news editor Nathalie Graham had the foresight to download the community council’s meeting minutes before they panicked and shut down their website. In it, we see the lengths they went to give input on the flights: including paying for flight tracking software, and complaining that one flight that landed on the roof was a broken leg.
The cruelty of weighing the noise of a helicopter against a child’s medical care resonated across the city. People planned a noise protest in the neighborhood. Neighbors in Laurelhurst who didn’t know about the arrangement said they planned to start showing up to neighborhood council meetings. And the Community Council felt the pressure. On Friday, they announced that they’d support ending the policy.
What You Had to Say:
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Wanna tell us how you feel? Email us at letters@thestranger.com.