MADISON, Wis. (WTVO) — UW Health plans to open an emergency helicopter transportation base in Janesville later this year.

“We found that most of the patients and hospitals we serve are outside of the Madison region,” said Dr. Drew Cathers, director of UW Health Med Flight. “So the closer we could be to them, the sooner we can be at the bedside helping patients.”

In addition to the Med Flight base, UW Health will move a pediatric, neo-natal team to Janesville. “It gets them much, much closer to Northern Illinois,” said Cathers. “A lot of our pediatric neo-natal patients will come from the Rockford and Northern Illinois communities.”

The new base will open at Janesville’s Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.