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Transportation and Works
Health and Community Services
March 10, 2011

Province Welcomes New St. John’s Based Air Ambulance

The province’s new St. John’s-based air ambulance aircraft entered service this week through an $8 million investment in Budget 2010: The Right Investments – For Our Children and Our Future. It replaces the aging air ambulance aircraft currently based in St. John’s. The Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Transportation and Works, and the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services, viewed the new aircraft today at the St. John’s International Airport.

“Updating and modernizing provincial infrastructure is a priority for this government and this goes beyond improvements to roads, bridges and buildings,” said the Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Transportation and Works. “Our public infrastructure also encompasses assets such as government aircraft including this new air ambulance. Along with the new air ambulance acquired in 2009, Newfoundland and Labrador now has two top-of-the-line aircraft and we are confident these planes will serve the people of this province well for years to come.”

The province’s air ambulance fleet currently consists of two Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350s – one operated out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and one operated out of St. John’s. This service is supplemented by contracted charter flights, when necessary.

“The Provincial Government continues to make enhancements to the provincial air ambulance program and this new aircraft furthers this commitment,” said Minister Kennedy. “With the addition of this air ambulance, there are now two new planes servicing the province, as well as a jet air ambulance charter service used to transport patients for specialized out-of-province medical services. The arrival of this new aircraft has further strengthened our services and the overall air ambulance program.”

The new King Air 350 was selected among other options to replace its 21-year-old predecessor. Its interior meets the storage and maneuverability needs of medical crews and its size allows it to land on some of the province’s shorter airstrips in rural locations, maintaining the current level of accessibility to the air ambulance service. It is equipped to carry two stretchers, medical equipment and supplies, along with four medically-trained personnel and two pilots.

The aircraft will provide transportation for residents of the province in the event of health emergencies.

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Photo: The province’s new St. John’s-based air ambulance - Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350

Media contacts:

Roger Scaplen
Director of Communications
Department of Transportation and Works
709-729-3015, 697-5267
rogerscaplen@gov.nl.ca
Blair Medd
Communications Manager
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1399, 631-8465
blairmedd@gov.nl.ca

2011 03 10             3:40 p.m.

 
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