Strawberry Point Medical Center Heliport

The closure was due to economic and strategic restructuring. RMC of Manchester consolidated its services, closing the emergency and inpatient departments at the Strawberry Point facility to ensure long-term financial stability. With the elimination of the services that required emergency air transport, the heliport no longer had a purpose and was decommissioned.

The physical helipad, a concrete or asphalt pad marked with a faded 'H', still exists on the property adjacent to the medical building. However, the facility itself has been repurposed and now operates as the 'RMC Clinic, Strawberry Point', providing only primary and outpatient care. The heliport is inactive, unmaintained for aviation use, and is not operational.

The Strawberry Point Medical Center Heliport was a critical piece of infrastructure for providing advanced medical care to a rural community. Its primary and sole function was to support medical evacuation (medevac) operations. When active, it allowed helicopters from regional air ambulance services (like University of Iowa AirCare) to land and rapidly transport critically ill or injured patients to larger, more specialized trauma centers in cities like Iowa City or Waterloo. This capability was vital for time-sensitive emergencies such as strokes, heart attacks, and severe trauma, significantly improving patient survival and recovery prospects in the region.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the heliport. Its function is entirely dependent on the presence of an emergency room or inpatient critical care unit at the adjacent facility. As the closure of those services was a permanent strategic decision, the reactivation of the heliport is highly unlikely unless there is a future, unannounced reversal of that decision to re-establish a full-service hospital at the site.