An important addition in Westfield could change the scope of health care in the north county community. Late last month, the members of the Westfield Memorial Hospital Foundation announced the addition of a helipad for the facility.

It was made possible by a donation of $40,000 from Dr. Hans Bergstrom and Barbara Bergstrom who spend their summers in Chautauqua County. “Our community hospital is able to continue to provide quality healthcare to all because of valued donors like the Bergstroms,” said Foundation Executive Director Patricia Gaughan DiPalma. “We are lucky to call them ‘dear friends’ who truly understand the enormity of our mission. Their generous gifts to the hospital Foundation will undoubtedly help to save lives now and well into the future.”

As Westfield’s hospital charts a sustainable future, another facility continues to be part of a waiting game. Brooks-TLC Hospital System Inc. was supposed to have a helipad as part of its new state-of-the-art facility that is planned to be built in Fredonia.

New York state, however, has the final say on when some $70 million will be released to get the build up and going. That, as we know, is not reassuring.

Westfield’s improvements, however, are something to celebrate.