Work continues to reinstate on-island air ambulance services for Grand Manan by this fall.
In February, Ambulance New Brunswick (ANB) signed a contract with Voyageur Aviation, which operates the province’s air ambulance program.
The agreement stipulates that an air ambulance must be stationed on Grand Manan by September.
In an update on Friday, ANB said the village has secured the location and general contractor for a dedicated hangar space.
The construction of the hangar will be financed by the village and ANB will rent the space for the aircraft.
Construction on the hanger is expected to begin in July and be wrapped up by September.
Meanwhile, Voyageur Aviation has secured the plane that will serve as the island’s dedicated air ambulance.
The plane is undergoing preparations, including reformatting the plane’s interior, in anticipation for September.
“This is an important step towards a long-term, sustainable air ambulance service on the island of Grand Manan,” Jean-Pierre Savoie, vice-president of operations for ANB, said in a news release.
Grand Manan has not had an island-based air ambulance since December 2022, when Atlantic Charters suspended the service due to new Transport Canada regulations.
Those new federal regulations would have required Atlantic Charters to hire more pilots — something the company has said could not be done without the “necessary support.”
In previous interviews with our newsroom, Mayor Bonnie Morse said it is critical to have a medevac service based on the island permanently.
“When you have somebody who is in urgent need of medical care, particularly someone who is potentially suffering from a stroke, there’s the opportunity to get them to the major hospital in Saint John in a much quicker timeline,” said Morse.
“The other factor is that it is sometimes easier to take off than it is to land, particularly in some of that infamous Bay of Fundy fog that we have.”
In more than one instance, a military helicopter has had to be dispatched from CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia because weather conditions did not allow Ambulance NB’s plane, which is based in Moncton, to land on the island.
