Updated: Hospital Helicopters to Land Near Horace through November

A helicopter carrying a patient landed next to Abington Memorial Hospital off of Horace Avenue earlier today — and several more will probably land there through November.

According to Richard Szatkowski, corporate director of plant operations at the hospital, the roof on the Toll Building of the hospital is being replaced — and that’s where the helipad is.

Construction started in late July and is expected to be finished sometime in November.

“To make operations safe for those doing the roofing, we applied for a temporary license for the landing site [near Horace and Highland avenues] through the state department of aviation,” Szatkowski said. “The project should be done in November, but due to Mother Nature, it’s going slower than we had hoped.”

On average, there are about three landings/departures from the temporary site per week. Szatkowski said that the hospital took great lengths to notify neighbors in the area, as well as hospital patients, about the temporary landing site. 

“Prior to starting this, the hospital delivered letters to neighbors explaining why this was happening,” Szatkowski said. “We were trying to allay any fears.  We didn’t want people saying, ‘Why is there a helicopter out my window?’”

The Abington Fire and Police departments help coordinate the logistics of the landings with the hospital. 

And, fun fact, the temporary landing site used to be the full-time, paved helipad for the hospital prior to the construction of the Toll Buillding in 1995, Szatkowski said.