Personnel

Pilots

Volunteer Crew

Our volunteer crew bring a wide range of skills and experience to the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust. They come from varied backgrounds and careers and all possess specialist skills that enhance the safety and efficiency of our rescue missions.

It should be recognised that our crew contributes in excess of 10,000 man hours, voluntarily, every year. We are proud and privileged to include these exceptional individuals in our operation.

Murray Chong

Murray came to us from a surf life saving and yachting background and also volunteered for two years in the ambulance service.  In 2003 he joined  our marine specialist team and is now  also one of our general crew.  Murray is proud of his association with the trust and his contribution to the Taranaki community.

Phil Dwyer (out of the area at present)

Phil comes from a surf lifesaving back ground also having done time in the fire service. He has been with the trust for five years as a genera SAR crewman and is a member of our specialist marine team. He also is the newest member to our strop/winch team. Phil says "The best thing about this job is you get such a diverse work load, you never know what you're going to get, and also being able to make a lifesaving difference to someone's life"

Steve Orr

Steve is one of our longest serving and one of our highly experienced crewmen. He has extensive winch/strop experience with a special interest in mountain rescue.  Steve is also an Advanced life support Paramedic working full time for the Taranaki district health board.   Steve can also fill the position of medic on some of the rescue helicopter missions. Steve plays a large part in maintaining our harness and line equipment insuring that it is of the highest possible standard.

Barbara Richards

Barbara, crews on inter-hospitals transfers, as required.

Paul Patterson

Paul has been involved in helicopter rescue work for over 25 years as a paramedic or crewman. Working as part of the search & rescue crew as rescue diver and winch operator and contributes to the planning and developement of crew training. He is also responsible for preparing the monthly roster for all the volunteer crew. Paul also offers many skills in the administrative area.

Ron Van Dillen, Rhys Sutton and Tim Grotrian

All three joined as general crewmen in July 2009. They offer lots of skills from their various backgrounds.

Nick Zieltjes  (out of the area at present)

Nick joined us 4 years ago and is one of our dedicated general crewman. Background is military with NZ Army and an internaional cameraman specialising in hostile invironments. He has a passion for aviation, particularly helicopters and is currently undergoing training for his private pilot's liceece to fly helicopters.

Specialist Crew

Mike Johns, Peter Lethbridge, Don Paterson and Sarah Sharp.

Flight Nurses

Sue Deakin

Sue Deakin is a member of the Flight Nurse team.  She is based on ICU/ CCU at Taranaki Base Hospital, Sue along with 3 other ICU nurses started the Flight service 6 years ago, she takes great pride in the way the service has grown and developed. Personally, she enjoys keeping fit with running/walking/gardening. She belongs to a book club, loves travelling to different parts of the world, and she is interested in other cultures. She lives on 5 acres on the outskirts of New Plymouth  which she has planted in about 200 trees.  She loves socialising and a glass of wine.

Janelle Dowman, Clazina Hagenson, Carolyn Jackson, Angela Morgan

Trustees

Brian Jeffares

Debbie Dawson

Duncan English

Richard Williams

John Flowers

Staff

Barbara Richards - Office Manager

Barbara began her association with the trust in 1992. At that time she was volunteering her services to the Taranaki Ambulance Service. Through this she became involved with the rescue helicopter, initially volunteering to take minutes at trustee meetings and provide administration support from her home.

In 2000, she was employed as a permanent, part-time staff member for the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust. This involved office management and assisting in the day-to-day running of the rescue helicopter. Within a couple of years her position became full time. She is now the Office Manager and gets to crew on the helicopter when her workload allows.

Michelle Zehnder - Administration Co-ordinator

Michelle joined us in June and is involved in all office procedures.  She has a strong administrative back ground from her 8 years in Admin and Office Manager roles, she has also owned a business for 4 years.  She is Secretary of the Bell Block School PTA and enjoys contributing in the meetings and fundraising events.

To be advised - Medical Director

The Medical Director’s role is to provide aeromedical advice to the trust and staff.

He is responsible for, or actively involved in:

• the appropriate selection and training of staff
• the selection of medical equipment
• suitable vehicle selection
• the development and implementation of medical care policies
• the ongoing training and evaluation of competency of staff
• continuous quality improvement
• liasing with the medical community that uses the air ambulance service
• dispute resolution around medical direction, control and patient care issues
• ensuring that the service meets the AIA Air Ambulance/Air rescue standards