Lucerne Medical Center Heliport

Hospital Modernization and Expansion. The closure was not due to economic failure or an accident, but rather a strategic upgrade. The ground-level or low-roof heliport was made obsolete by the construction of a new, state-of-the-art patient tower at ORMC. This new tower included two larger, safer, and more efficient rooftop helipads, providing direct elevator access to the trauma bays and operating rooms, which significantly improves patient transfer times and safety.

The physical site of the former heliport has been completely redeveloped and absorbed into the expanded Orlando Health campus. The area is now occupied by new hospital structures, access roads, and other facilities built during the major expansion project. All helicopter operations for the medical center now use the modern dual rooftop helipads located atop the main patient tower. The current, active FAA identifier for the hospital's helipad is 0FD9.

For decades, the Lucerne Medical Center Heliport was a vital piece of infrastructure for Central Florida's emergency medical system. As the primary landing site for ORMC, the region's only Level I Trauma Center, it handled a high volume of medevac flights. The ORMC Air Care Team and other air ambulance services used this heliport to transport critically injured patients from accident scenes and transfer patients from other hospitals, playing a crucial role in the 'golden hour' of trauma care and saving countless lives.

There are zero prospects for reopening the original Lucerne Medical Center Heliport (US-10864). It has been permanently closed, physically dismantled, and its former location has been repurposed. The hospital's air medical operations were seamlessly transferred to the superior rooftop facility, which now serves as the permanent replacement.