Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter Service trustee Stephen Woodhead has announced Suzanne Prentice as its latest trustee.
Ms Prentice had first-hand experience on a rescue helicopter after she had a heart attack in Invercargill earlier this year.
"If they hadn’t been there, I don’t think I would have made it," she said.
At the time, she said the public needed to "appreciate them and get behind them even more".
Mr Woodhead, the former chairman of the Otago Regional Council, said he and HeliOtago chief executive Graeme Gale would be going to collect the paperwork from Invercargill to make the appointment official.
Still singing its praises and true to her word, Ms Prentice would now be backing the trust officially.
Mr Woodhead announced the news during the Otago Regional Council meeting yesterday.
He presented the trust’s annual report, and said it had responded with critical care for 1611 patients across the lower South Island in the past year.
The council is one of the trust’s major funders, and gives $350,000 annually.
Regional council chairman Andrew Noone said many life-saving procedures needed to be carried out in specialised hospitals so the helicopters had a vital role in retrieving patients for medical emergencies and transfers, as well as responding to accidents and search and rescue operations.
"The service is relied on by us all and ensures critical care is there for us no matter where we are located in our challenging southern geographical area," he said.
