CBH has extended its partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and increased its funding commitment for the next five years.
The partnership began in 2014 with a three-year agreement worth $300,000.
It has been extended for another five years with a further $750,000 committed, redirecting funds from air strip surveys into the Aero Medical Fund.
Chief executive officer Andy Crane said CBH’s Community Investment Fund was focused on supporting initiatives which benefited CBH grower communities.
“RFDS certainly fits this bill – during 2016 the RFDS conducted 2856 retrievals from the Wheatbelt, which is a clear indication of the importance of the service to our growers,” Dr Crane said.
“It is at the heart of every co-operative to care for the community in which it operates and we are thrilled to be able to continue supporting the RFDS’s life-saving work over the next five years.”
The RFDS has six bases in WA and assists almost 70,000 people every year through aero medical retrievals and transfers, remote healthcare clinics and its telehealth service.
RFDS chief executive officer Grahame Marshall said the Aero Medical Fund allowed the RFDS to raise critical funds to enable the long-term future of the organisation.
“CBH Group’s contribution of $750,000 over five years is significant and one that is very much welcomed by the RFDS, its patients and communities across WA,” Mr Marshall said.
“By investing in the Aero Medical Fund, CBH has given us the opportunity to direct its funds wherever we need them most, whether that’s in the purchase of a new piece of state-of-the-art medical equipment or our new Pilatus PC24 jets.
“All this ensures we can be there whenever and wherever a patient needs us, anywhere across the vast 2.5 million square kilometres of WA.”
In March last year the RFDS opened its first new facility in 50 years in Broome following a substantial increase in demand for its services in the Kimberley.