What does it take to bring a critically ill or injured patient home safely from the other side of the world?
Most of us will never see what happens behind the scenes when a seriously ill or injured person needs to be transported across countries, oceans or into highly challenging environments. Yet every aeromedical retrieval involves an extraordinary combination of clinical judgement, aviation, logistics, teamwork and calm decision-making under pressure.
Drawing on more than 35 years of experience in military, civilian and disaster settings, Russell Clarke will take us inside the world of aeromedical retrieval and medical repatriation. From rescue helicopters in New Zealand to missions across the Pacific, Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, Russell will explore what it takes to move vulnerable patients safely when distance, geography, weather and limited resources all become part of the clinical challenge.
He’ll share some of the realities behind these complex missions - how teams prepare, what happens when plans change, how clinicians make decisions in difficult environments, and why successful patient transport depends on far more than simply putting someone on an aircraft.
Now Director of Clinical Operations at Orion Aeromedical, Russell will also offer a glimpse into how modern aeromedical teams coordinate international patient journeys today, bringing together medicine, aviation and highly specialised operational expertise.
This is a rare opportunity to hear from someone who has spent decades working in environments where preparation, teamwork and judgement genuinely matter.
Date:
This Learning Lunch is on Monday 9th November, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm and includes lunch.
Catering:
We cater to most dietary requirements with prior notice. Please advise us at hello@heart.co.nz of any allergies or specific dietary requirements.
Venue:
We’re delighted to be hosting this session at NZ Warbirds at Ardmore Airport. Surrounded by the history and character of one of Auckland’s best-known aviation settings, it offers a wonderfully unique backdrop for learning, conversation and connection - and somewhere a little different for us to gather together.
About the expert
Russell Clarke
Russell Clarke is Director of Clinical Operations at Orion Aeromedical, bringing over 35 years experience completing incredibly challenging aeromedical retrievals in military, civilian, and disaster settings. His career spans fixed and rotor wing retrievals across New Zealand and internationally, with patient repatriations ranging as far afield as Africa to Afghanistan.
He has held the role of Critical Care Flight Paramedic on a rescue helicopter in New Zealand for the last 16 years. His broader operational experience spans both military and civilian aeromedical work, including service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a Flight Medic and extensive operational deployments as a civilian critical care flight paramedic, including deployments to the South Pacific Islands, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Drawing on his 35 years operating in these demanding environments, Russell teaches austere and remote medicine as well as aeromedical retrieval medicine to clinicians around the world. He holds a Master of Health Science in Aeromedical Retrieval and Transportation (AeroRT) from Otago University and has served as Senior Clinical Lecturer leading postgraduate aeromedical education at Otago University Medical School since 2010, alongside teaching roles across the prehospital emergency care sector.
Russell now brings this depth of knowledge and experience to his role as Director of Clinical Operations at Orion Aeromedical, where he leads the safe transportation of patients back to their home countries.
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