PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
Hospital facilities raise unique short-term and long-term safety and health concerns that are not experienced with office complexes.What is the effect of hospitals on the local crime rate?
Nationally, hospitals are the scene of considerable personal and property crime. The hospital cannot control the actions of patients and visitors.The proposed hospital would serve our entire region, not just Whitpain. Additional people drawn to Whitpain would likely mean a higher risk of property and other crime.
Additional Whitpain police would be needed, especially with a hospital in the midst of residential neighborhoods.
What would be the effect on pedestrian and motorist safety?
Whitpain lacks the infrastructure to support the pedestrian traffic drawn by core services such as hospitals. Increased pedestrian traffic on our unlit narrow roads, mostly lacking sidewalks, would be an accident waiting to happen.Hospitals draw motorists who are distracted or panicked and who are rushing to get help. Common sense would suggest that those motorists would decrease traffic safety.
What types of noise does a hospital facility produce? How loud could it be?
Hospital facilities attract noise producers such as helicopters, ambulances, delivery vehicles and traffic. Most noise sources are present 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.Our community has a noise level of about 50 decibels. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines hazardous noise as a noise level greater than 80 decibels.
| Noise source | Decibels |
| Quiet Suburban Community | 50 |
| Hazardous Noise | 80 |
| General Moderate Traffic | 85 |
| Delivery Truck | 90 |
| Helicopter | 105 |
| Car Horn | 110 |
| Ambulance Siren | 125 |