Grand Manan’s mayor is welcoming news that the island will have its own dedicated air ambulance once again.
Ambulance New Brunswick (ANB) announced Thursday it has signed a contract with Voyageur Aviation.
It will see the company, which operates the province’s air ambulance program, station a plane on the island permanently by September.
This aircraft will be the third in Voyageur Aviation’s fleet, with a primary and mechanical backup already being operated by the company.
“I think there’s a lot of relief,” Bonnie Morse, the mayor of Grand Manan, said in an interview after Thursday’s announcement.
“There’s relief in knowing that there will be a plane stationed on Grand Manan and that we will have that security again that if something happens, we have the same access to health care as the rest of the province.”
RELATED: Island-based air ambulance returning to Grand Manan
The community used to have an island-based medevac service through Grand Manan’s Atlantic Charters.
But the company suspended the service after new Transport Canada regulations took effect in December 2022.
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.”
Morse said it is critical for island residents and visitors that there be a medevac service based on Grand Manan permanently.
“Because of where we are out in the middle of the Bay of Fundy, a lot of times we have weather that’s different than what it is on the mainland. There are times when the plane can take off from the island when it may not be able to land,” said the mayor.
“The other piece of that is, particularly in the summer where the fog comes in and out, you can look for a window when you can take off and the fog maybe isn’t present, but if you wait for that window when you’re coming from the mainland, the fog could be back before the plane arrives, which we saw some of that this past summer.”
In more than one instance, a military helicopter was 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.
Ambulance New Brunswick also announced Thursday that it will add around-the-clock advanced care paramedic staffing to the island.
This will complement care already provided by primary care paramedics, as advanced care paramedics can provide more interventions and administer more medications.
Officials said the level of air ambulance services will eventually transition to 24/7 advanced life support services, which will be a first for Grand Manan.
“My understanding is what that means is that there will be times when the advanced care paramedics will be able to fly in the patient, where in the past it would require a nurse from the hospital,” said Morse.
“To be able to have that additional service here on the island and be able to look after some of those situations, I think that’s going to be a real improvement in service here as well.”
