Accessing life-saving medical care can be a financial and logistical burden for patients living in rural and remote communities, but one charity has spent the last four decades helping them take flight.
A multi-aircraft expedition touched down at St. John’s International Airport yesterday as part of the ‘Give Hope Wings’ tour, celebrating Hope Air’s 40th anniversary.
The event brought together pilots, patients and supporters of Hope Air, a national charity that provides free travel and accommodations for Canadians in financial need and who must travel far from home for specialized medical care.
A dozen planes from the organization landed at YYT yesterday. Jaclyn Sullivan, director of external relations for Hope Air Atlantic Canada, says the expedition will stop in other parts of the province before winding up the tour in Ontario late next week.
(VOCM News)
“Through this journey, these volunteer pilots, who have donated their time and aircraft on their own dime, are fundraising for Hope Air through an auction and community events,” says Sullivan.
Generally, the medical destination has to be at least four hours away from a patient’s home.
Typically, they book people on commercial flights in this province. The number one community they serve is Goose Bay, but also people from the Deer Lake area with medical appointments in St. John’s, and people from St. John’s going out of province to Halifax or Toronto.
