LifeFlight Australia is honoured to reveal Queensland’s new Governor, Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young PSM as the aeromedical organisation’s inaugural Patron.
Her Excellency, who has long been a supporter of the role LifeFlight plays in the Queensland aeromedical network, visited the Brisbane base this morning, in her first external Vice-Regal event, to announce the Patronage and thank staff for their extraordinary efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Patronage is a great honour for LifeFlight and we are immensely proud to have been granted the Governor’s support and advocacy, as we continue building on our 42-year history of providing life-saving medical care to Queenslanders,” LifeFlight Australia Chair Hon. Rob Borbidge AO said.
“Her Excellency has been a great supporter and champion of this organisation over many years.”
During her 16-year term as Queensland’s Chief Health Officer (CHO), she was instrumental in the development of the state’s world-class aeromedical network, Retrieval Services Queensland, in which LifeFlight plays a significant role.
The Governor’s commitment to this vision began when she noticed the lack of services for regional communities, while working as the Medical Services Director at Rockhampton Hospital.
LifeFlight welcomed the opportunity to give the Governor a tour of the operational base and meet the crews who now help bring this vision to life, every day.
Her Excellency was shown LifeFlight’s broad range of advanced aircraft, tailored for the varying types of missions the service completes - including an RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter, RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Air Ambulance jet and the Land Rover LifeFlight Special Mission helicopter.
“Our frontline pilots and medical crew, who work tirelessly to deliver emergency medical care to Queenslanders, were thrilled to meet the Governor and give Her Excellency a close insight into their operational duties,” LifeFlight Australia CEO Ashley van de Velde said.
The Patronage will be in place for the duration of Her Excellency’s term in office and LifeFlight looks forward to this opportunity to highlight the important work of our aeromedical crews throughout Queensland.
“We appreciate Patronage requires a great deal of consideration and commitment, so on behalf of the whole LifeFlight family, I thank Her Excellency very much for taking on this role,” LifeFlight Australia Chair Mr Borbidge said.
Photos: Courtesy LifeFlight