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On Wednesday 23 October, Westpac Rescue Helicopter landed in Hobart for Waimea Heights Primary School students to see the state-of-the-art helicopter up close and meet our frontline crew members who rescue and transport Tasmanians every single day.
The visit followed a landing at Dover Primary School last month as part of a series of school visits for children and young people to learn more about the service and keeping safe in Tasmania’s wilderness and coastline in the lead up to summer.
Ambulance Tasmania’s Chief Executive, Jordan Emery, said these school visits are central to increasing community awareness and promoting safety messages.
“We are grateful for our relationship with Westpac and the support provided through their sponsorship which ensures we can continue to strengthen our emergency helicopter services from both an emergency medical and search and rescue perspective to provide life-saving care to the Tasmanian community,” Mr Emery said.
“These school visits allow Ambulance Tasmania, Tasmania Police and Westpac to directly interact with students and their communities to learn more about the service, understand the roles of the crew members, receive some safety tips when venturing outdoors, and hopefully inspire future Intensive Care Flight Paramedics, Retrieval Doctors, Pilots, and Police Air Crew Officers,” Mr Emery said.
Westpac Regional General Manager, Justin Caccavo, said the message from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania crew comes at an important time.
“We know that Tasmanians love to head outdoors for adventures as the weather gets warmer, so now is a good opportunity to remind our young ones about important safety messages when it comes to the Tasmanian bush and coast.
“Who better to deliver that message than the helicopter crew who have seen it all and responded to countless emergencies since the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service was established in Tasmania in 2000,” Mr Caccavo said.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania Service is based in Hobart with two helicopters that cover the entire state, including all 52 islands of the Furneaux Group off the north-eastern tip of Tasmania.
Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania plays a vital role in the State, operating as a free community service to Tasmanians that’s available 24/7, 365 days a year. The service performs essential aeromedical, search and rescue, and aerial law enforcement missions to ensure that Tasmanians and visitors to Tasmania have access to world class rescue and healthcare services, wherever they are located.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter is also expected to land in Glenorchy next week and is intended to land at schools in the north and north west of the State next year.