The Eurocopter EC-135 was tied down at a temporary helipad at Ocean Medical Center on Thursday afternoon, its side emblazoned with its “AirMed 2” callsign, and covers on its rotor tips. But less than an hour later, it was in the air, passing over the Herbertsville section of Brick Township on its way to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Jackson. 

The helicopter will soon have a permanent base at Ocean Medical Center after Brick Township’s planning board unanimously approved a proposal from Air Methods Corporation to add a heliport and small maintenance building to the area where the temporary pad is currently operating. Located off Jack Martin Boulevard, in between the hospital’s main driveway and a private medical building next door, the helicopter will be able to shuttle patients who need advanced or specialized medical care from Brick to major hospitals in Philadelphia and New York City – or beyond.