Our Grants Manager Sue Stewart was pleased to attend the blessing ceremony at the site of the new St John Ambulance Hub in Cromwell in early September.

Representatives from St John, local iwi, the Central Otago District Council, Central Lakes Trust and building firm Breen Construction also took part in a ceremony which included a Ngai Tahu blessing of the site.

Despite partial government funding, St John still had to fundraise to keep its service operating.

The new St John Ambulance Hub's construction is the result of a huge fundraising effort. Central Lakes Trust provided $1.65million and Otago Community Trust $475,000; the rest came from the community.

It’s a show of true community spirit that so many people and organisations have supported this initiative to become a reality.

The new facility will be built to the highest category for a building’s seismic resilience, designed to withstand AF8 (Alpine Fault Magnitude 8) and continue to function operationally with minimal interruption to emergency ambulance services.

In 2019, St John responded to 6,234 incidents in the Central Otago region, averaging 17 patients a day. Over the same period, there were 775 incidents in Cromwell where an ambulance was required, and 492 patients taken to a medical centre.

This hub will not only serve our local community but support the lifesaving services St John provides throughout the region. We look forward to the region benefitting from this innovative new hub and operating model.

The 574sq m hub will be built on the existing St John Cromwell site in Barry Ave.