New helipad unveiled in Trenton

Brandon Shields
Jackson Sun
THe new helipad ensures emergency patients in Trenton will have access to fly to Jackson, Memphis or Nashville if needed for treatment.

TRENTON – Bob Wilson is a developer who moved to Tennessee because of potential he sees in different areas including Trenton.

“We’re trying to develop Downtown Trenton, but that’s hard to do without adequate healthcare,” Wilson said.

Wilson and his brother, Ken, are doing something to help that situation as they worked to install a new helipad in the northern part of the city near the corner of Hwy. 45 and Halliburton Street. The facility was officially dedicated with a ribbon cutting Thursday morning.

The Air-Evac helicopter sits on the new helipad in north Trenton on Thursday.

“Quick and convenient access to healthcare is something any city wanting to develop more needs, and this aids in getting that done,” Bob Wilson said. “It took a while to get this built because the weather didn’t cooperate a lot of the time, but it’s finally finished.”

Trenton did have a small hospital, but it closed in 2014. A new healthcare facility did open about a year-and-a-half later, but its resources and staff are limited, meaning patients who need care for more urgent needs are being rushed to Jackson, Memphis or Nashville.

Signal lights sit on the corners of the helipad in Trenton.

“Having this helipad here will give our citizens a quicker trip to those places if they need it,” said Trenton Mayor Ricky Jackson. “And this is just the first step to us having a full heliport here in Trenton serving our citizens even better.”

Wilson confirmed there are plans to put a helicopter hangar with a resident crew to man it for emergency purposes, but he couldn’t give a timetable for how long that process will take as funding and construction costs will affect that process.

“We’re just glad we have the helipad, and that service is available, and we’re looking forward to getting more here,” Jackson said.

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.