November 14, 2017
The past 12 months have presented us with some challenges which we will continue to address over the coming year but, having been in the business for 47 years, we know that the only constant is change and, in fact, we have learned to not only embrace it, but to lead it!
We are extremely proud of the work we do and the service we provide to our communities, and we continuously strive to improve in every aspect of our business. The rescue helicopter service business is a complex one, particularly as we live in the charitable space relying on the public to ensure the sustainability and survival of our
service. This is not something we take for granted and I stress every day the need for us to be good custodians of those precious donations. We are always mindful of the delicate balancing act of wanting to be the best and provide a world class rescue helicopter service and the cost involved in doing so, with the very real need to ensure every dollar is spent is with thought and care.
Over the years ARHT has shifted focus from being a transport mechanism, being the quickest option to get someone to hospital, to being a truly patient focused service. This year we celebrated five years of our HEMS programme. Our Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) is unique in New Zealand where, through our close relationship with the Auckland District Health Board, we have Emergency Specialist Doctors working alongside our crew to provide the very best medical care possible to our patients. Over the past five years, this doctor/paramedic model has proved its worth to countless patients who have received the specialist care and attention this approach provides. However HEMS comes at a significant financial cost. We realised that to truly commit to this model we needed to move away from relying on goodwill and best endeavours and we set our aspirations on guaranteeing this service to our community. Our knight in shining armour came in the form of the Li Ka Shing Foundation who showed their commitment and support by donating $1million dollars to the Trust to fund our HEMS programme for the next three years. This is the single biggest donation that the Trust has ever received. We are extremely grateful for this generosity.
We know how important the support of our community is. We are humbled by the ongoing support and generosity of all of our sponsors and supporters, including Westpac New Zealand, our naming rights sponsor.
Keeping our choppers available to you 24/7/365 is a team effort and by working together we can ensure that ARHT continues to provide “The Best Care By Air” every day. Finally, I take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the staff of ARHT. They are a wonderful bunch of people and I am proud to be a part of their team.
