RETIREMENT THE NEW FLIGHT PLAN FOR AEROMEDICAL SERVICE CEO
January 24, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RETIREMENT THE NEW FLIGHT PLAN FOR AEROMEDICAL SERVICE CEO
As a former pilot in the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom, Ian Rowan is no stranger to the cockpit and for the last five years he has combined his passion for aviation and community work as the CEO of RACQ CQ Rescue.
Today, Mr Rowan announced his plans to retire from the helm of the region’s aeromedical service, which has completed more than 10,500 missions in rural and remote communities across Central Queensland since 1996.
Mr Rowan will remain in the role until a new CEO is recruited and begins work later this year at the service headquarters, located at Mackay Airport.
Mr Rowan said he was incredibly proud of his achievements during his tenure and had overseen some key milestones as CEO of the not-for-profit organisation.
“I am very proud of some of our achievements in the last five years including the Building Better Region’s hangar extension project which extended and expanded our operations and administration centre,” he said.
“We also successfully lobbied the government, so our service’s patients had access to Critical Care Doctor 24 hours a day onboard the aircraft. This made an incredible difference to the levels of care delivered to our patients,” Mr Rowan said.
During his time as CEO, the service’s back up Bell 412 rescue helicopter was also upgraded to an EP model which resulted in optimum performance and commonality of engineering services, he said.
Mr Rowan was also instrumental in establishing the highly successful annual community event Emergency Services Day, the inaugural event held in 2018.
“I’m honoured to have had the opportunity to help future-proof this vital lifesaving organisation and lead a team of people who share this passion for saving lives and assisting people in their time of dire need,” he said.
“I am extremely confident RACQ CQ Rescue is well-placed to continue to meet the demand for our services as well as this community’s expectations for many years to come.”
An avid lawn bowler and qualified coach, Mr Rowan said he was looking forward to remaining in the region and settling into retirement with wife Hilary. He intends to maintain his various interests and memberships on various boards.
RACQ CQ Rescue board chairman Chris Wright thanked Mr Rowan for his contribution to the service and this community, acknowledging that his extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, risk mitigation and event management had ensured CQ Rescue continued to grow in both professionalism and reach to provide the best aeromedical rescue and emergency service to the Mackay, Whitsunday and Bowen Basin communities.
“We extend our sincere appreciation to Ian for his incredible contribution to RACQ CQ Rescue over the last five years. His skills and professionalism have helped deliver the most cost-effective, reliable, safe and clinically excellent patient rescue and transfer service we have available today,” he said.
RACQ CQ Rescue services an area four times the size of Tasmania and last year completed a record 704 missions, many involving acute illness and severe trauma.
[ENDS]
Ian Rowan has announced he will be retiring after five years as CEO of the region’s aeromedical services RACQ CQ Rescue.
Please credit any released photos and video footage to RACQ CQ Rescue.
Please note: Full title of rescue service is RACQ CQ Rescue.
For further information please contact:
Naomi Noy
RACQ CQ Rescue
Ph: 0417 578 182