A saving grace for rural communities When it comes to supporting their communities, farmers are some of the most dedicated people, and one of the most common and widely valued services that is supported by farmers is the rescue helicopter service. You only need to ask around and there’s an overwhelming response from farmers that they do, or have, donated money to a rescue helicopter service. It will come as no surprise that the majority of helicopter rescue missions are to rural areas. In the months of September and October 2020 alone, 57 missions were undertaken by the Palmerston North rescue helicopter to rural regions where patients, finding themselves in sudden and distressing situations where their health and lives were compromised, benefitted from a swift response timecritical flight from their remote location to hospital.
That is why Allflex New Zealand have followed farmers lead and come on board as an associate sponsor of the Palmerton North rescue helicopter service. Philips Search & Rescue Trust (PSRT) is the charity responsible for fundraising and promotion of the North Island’s largest pool of community rescue helicopters. With four rescue helicopters servicing the North Island and a fixed-wing air ambulance plane which services both North and South Island, it’s no surprise that Allflex have decided to support a charity which provides such life-saving medical equipment and expertise to a large rural area. General Manager of Allflex New Zealand, Jared Briggs says farmers work long hours in often remote areas of New Zealand and access to emergency health services is difficult. “The Philips Search & Rescue Trust’s rescue helicopters bridge that gap,
| Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter based out of Palmerston North hospital covers the Manawatu-Whanganui and surrounding areas and is proudly sponsored by Allflex NZ.
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helping our farmers in their hour of need by providing a truly lifesaving service,” he says. The Allflex team is proud to be supporting this service, it’s a small thing that Allflex can do to help keep this helicopter and PSRT’s other rescue helicopters in the air,” Jared says. The commitment made by Allflex, means the Manawatu and Whanganui regions served by the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter can have confidence in the ongoing sustainability of an essential life-saving emergency air rescue service. Due to rising costs and safety measures, further increased by a nationwide health emergency, challenges continue in meeting increased expenses to operate rescue helicopters in Philips Search and Rescue Trust’s four Central North Island regions. “Allflex’ supporting sponsorship of Philips Search & Rescue Trust’s rescue helicopters is invaluable in ensuring that we can continue to provide this service,” Philips Search and Rescue Trust Groups Manager, Vanessa Richmond says. “The continuation of time-critical, lifesaving flights undertaken to rural and remote areas is what sponsorship helps to achieve. We welcome Allflex Livestock Intelligence on board and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship serving our local communities.” The Westpac Air Ambulance, the fixedwing plane owned and operated by Philips Search and Rescue Trust is a visible and vital nationwide emergency service.
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