We were lucky last Wednesday night to visit the Rescue Helicopters control base and hanger at Taieri Aerodrome. 

Our group were told firsthand from the Operations manager on duty (Shane) about this vital regional helicopter rescue service.

The emergency rescue service from Dunedin operates 5 modern helicopters equipped with state of the art navigational technology enabling flights in cloud or at night, high tech emergency medical equipment and a team of professionals including the pilot, highly trained medics and if needed, a skilled winch operator. The 24/7 service provided by the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter team is second to none in New Zealand. The team have the capability to provide rapid responses (be on their way in as little as 5 mins from call out) to medical emergencies. They also operate search and rescue missions, maritime rescues (these take longer to plan due to the distances and hazards involved) and carry out vital inter-hospital patient transfers. Our group heard about some interesting recent missions including picking up a cruise ship passenger at Milford Sound and some extraordinary missions such as rescuing people from vessels in the deep Southern Oceans. We were able to look closely at the helicoptors parked in the hangers and get a behind the scenes view of the workshop and engineering facilities.  All aircraft fit outs and maintenance are carried out in house. When responding to medical emergencies the operation is co-ordinated following a call from the St John Air Desk and communication is made with ICU medical specialists at the hospitals to where the patient will likely be transported to.  The lifesaving medical equipment on board includes a cardiac monitor/defibralltor device and Ultrasound. The service is a multi-million dollar operation now getting nearly 2000 call outs per year.  The number of call outs per year has been growing. The service is predominantly government funded, but local fundraising support of around $1.2 million per year is essential to provide such high standard levels of life saving rescue services to the community. All local fundraising is used for the local service. A current local fundraiser for the Otago Southland Helicopter Trust is organised by the  Phantom Riders  'In Memory of Mike' 2400Km NZ bike ride starting on March 2nd. To help out visit  https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/nz-tour-in-memory-of-mike

Many thanks to Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust for allowing us to visit, to Shane and to our speaker scheduler John Drummond for organizing this fascinating visit.  

On February 15th Sally Aldrich spoke to us about her daughter Claire who was born healthy in April 2019 but died of a random genetic mutation before her first birthday.
The mutation was not carried by either parent and caused Claire’s brain to atrophy within eight months.
Testing showed she had a rare HIVEP2 genetic mutation which resulted in seizures, and a possible second rare mutation which led to the deterioration of her brain and ultimately her death. The precise nature of this second mutation could not be confirmed, leaving scientists unable to provide answers to the family. “That lack of closure was so hard to live with as a parent,” Sally said.
The tragedy prompted Sally to form The Claire Aldrich Legacy, a fund set up at Otago University’s Genetics Otago Research Centre that is being used to teach the next generation of young scientists about the importance of genetic research. 
Donations to the fund help to establish “Claire’s kit,” a carry-on-size suitcase, filled with material that teaches high school students across New Zealand how genetic mutations are found and how much remains unknown. The kits show students how to read “artificial human” DNA and detect alterations.
Sally’s hope is that students who use the kit and hear Claire’s story, will go on to study genetics, and perhaps do research that will give better knowledge of genetic mutations and new therapies. 
With these kits, and Claire’s story, students appreciate that this is not just science in a laboratory, but very important research that affects the lives of real families.

For more information and to help fund Claire Kits visit https://alumni.otago.ac.nz/donate/the-claire-aldrich-legacy

On Feb 8th our guest speaker David McKenzie spoke about the Dunedin Night Shelter. As manager of the Night Shelter, David spoke with engaging and caring concern for the people who find themselves in homeless situations. David shared insights and stories as he told us about the origins of the night shelter, how it operates, how it's financed, how it helps homeless people, and how the future of the Dunedin Night Shelter might look.