Wolverton Station’s Emma Jackson says it is a “no brainer” to support the work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service after being announced as one of the organisation’s new Light the Way ambassadors. Photo: Supplied.
After having multiple personal experiences with the work the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) does, Wolverton Station’s Emma Jackson is a natural fit as Cape York’s new ambassador for the organisation.
The RFDS has announced Ms Jackson as one of 11 new Queensland Light the Way ambassadors tasked with spreading the message about the important lifesaving work it does, especially in regional and remote areas.
In 2022, Ms Jackson was crowned the RFDS Local Hero Award winner for the Cairns region after she used a defibrillator supplied by the organisation to save the life of friend Karryn Dolan, who suffered a “widow maker” heart attack while visiting the Archer River station.
Ms Jackson told Cape York Weekly that experience, and the involvement of the RFDS in medical incidents with her children, meant she was well positioned to champion the emergency retrieval and health service provider.
“I’m a massive, passionate believer in the RFDS, and the support they give us on the station,” she explained.
“I think probably half the reason they asked me is because they can see I’m a natural ambassador for the RFDS; all of my children have used the RFDS for critical incidents.”
RFDS Queensland chair Georgie Somerset said the ambassadors helped promote the organisation but also worked to identify areas for additional service delivery.
“The RFDS is much more than an aeromedical retrieval service,” she said.
“We’re one of the largest primary health care providers in Australia, and we’re continually innovating and expanding our services to deliver new products and programs to meet community needs.
“The ambassador role is important in engaging across Queensland within the communities our ambassadors live in and, in the process, identify any opportunities to provide additional services.”
Ms Jackson said her first-hand experience of the support and services offered by the RFDS made her new role as a Light the Way ambassador an easy one.
“They’ve listened to community and what communities need, and they respond and also ask ‘what else do you need?’” she said.
“I think there would be a lot more sickness, a lot more disease and a lot more deaths if it wasn’t for the RFDS, so it’s a no brainer [to become an ambassador].
I like that the RFDS also have a tenacity to them; they like to unpack and undress and find out what’s going on [with a patient], and not just address their symptoms.
“It’s definitely in their culture.”
RFDS Light the Way ambassadors, including Wolverton Station’s Emma Jackson, engage with their local communities to promote the work of the organisation and identify any opportunities to provide additional services. Photo: Supplied.
