Knox County will invest $32,000 in the construction of a helipad that will be located on property owned by the Community and Senior Center of Corryton (7701 Corryton Road) behind Rural Metro Fire Station, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs announced Monday.
The project has been a collaborative effort between the Community Center, Rural Metro Fire, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Life Star Aeromedical Transportation for East Tennessee, and MED-TRANS.
The helipad’s primary use will be used to transport medical patients from Corryton to hospitals that will meet the patients’ requirements.
“Road travel from our furthest rural areas to a hospital for a serious medical emergency can take at least 45 minutes and we certainly need a faster way to transport some of these patients,” said Jacobs. “The capability for an air ambulance to land would help that and this location ensures there would always be a place for them to do that.”
Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay helped push for the funding and said work on it should start soon and wrap up in late October.
“Without a doubt, this will be a life-saving project worthy of our collective investment,” Jay said. “Building this new helipad will reduce travel time and provide an asset to our emergency service partners in the event of major accidents, illness or rescue operations.”
The Helipad can also be used to assist the Knox County Sheriff’s Office aviation division if needed. Corryton-based business Jack M. Walker Homebuilders will serve as the project contractor.
Abbey Harris is deputy director of communications for Knox County.