St Joseph Regional Medical Center Heliport

The heliport was closed as a direct result of the relocation of the entire St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. The hospital moved from its downtown South Bend campus (at the specified coordinates) to a new, state-of-the-art facility in the neighboring city of Mishawaka, Indiana. The closure was part of a strategic modernization and expansion plan for the medical center, not due to economic failure, accidents, or military conversion. The new hospital campus opened with its own modern heliport.

The site of the former heliport and the hospital it served has been completely redeveloped. Following the hospital's relocation, the old downtown campus was largely demolished and transformed into a mixed-use development known as the 'Commerce Center' and 'Ironworks Plaza'. The area at and around the coordinates now features commercial office space, retail stores, restaurants, and residential apartments. The physical infrastructure of the heliport and the specific hospital buildings it was attached to no longer exist.

The St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Heliport was a critical piece of infrastructure for the hospital's emergency and trauma services for many years. Its primary function was to handle medical evacuation (medevac) flights, allowing for the rapid transport of critically ill and injured patients. It served as a key landing zone for regional air ambulance services, such as Memorial MedFlight, connecting South Bend and the surrounding Michiana region to life-saving critical care. The heliport's location at the downtown hospital was vital for time-sensitive patient transfers from accident scenes and other medical facilities, playing a significant role in the regional emergency medical services (EMS) network before the hospital's relocation.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening this specific heliport. The medical facility it served has permanently relocated, and the original site has been fundamentally repurposed for commercial and residential use. The new St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka operates its own modern, active heliport (FAA ID: 2IN3), which now fulfills the medical air transport needs for the hospital and the region, making a heliport at the old downtown location entirely obsolete.