Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) serves 80,000 Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary residents. Patients with severe trauma, illness, stroke or myocardial infarction require definitive surgical treatment within the first 60 minutes known as “the Golden Hour” by physicians and EMT staff. For these critical care patients, expedient transport to medical facilities is literally a life and death situation. Ground transport may delay treatment for hours; -when roads are passible! The newly completed Transport Canada / Nav-Canada approved heliport will reduce patient transport time to 20 minutes between Kelowna’s new Heart and Surgical Centre to help save lives, reduce recovery time, free up ICU beds, and lower the associated health care costs by reducing implications triggered by delays in treatment.   Website created with financial support from: Printable Fact Sheets Download our one-page fact sheets and project update newsletters here: •   Fast Facts •   Frequently Asked Questions •   Heliport Update -April 2010 •   Heliport Update -June 2010 Help the KBRH Heliport fly with a tax deductable donation. The heliport at KBRH is now fully certified and the inaugural flight and mock patient transfer occured September 16 during the Grand Opening ceremony. The LCCDT Health and Hospital Committee wishes to thank the project partners and many generous donors who helped see this vision through to fruition.  For more details on the grand opening visit www.lccdt.com. Heliport Fully Operational The Golden Hour In severe trauma or acute illness cases, the "golden hour" is the first 60 minutes where a victim's chance of survival rapidly deteriorates unless they receive definitive medical treatment.