Samaritan Aviation

Samaritan Aviation is a 501 C-3 non-profit Christian organization that serves the population in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea through emergency evacuation flights, the delivery of medical supplies, and continued community outreach and health programs.[1] The non-profit is funded by the Papua New Guinea government and individual donations.[2]

History

Samaritan Aviation was founded in 1999 by Mark Palm and GT Bustin as a means of providing crucial medical services to the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. To avoid the difficult transport through 30,000 square miles of jungle, Samaritan Aviation introduced the country’s only floatplane in 2010, a retrofitted Cessna 206, which dramatically increased the availability of healthcare to around 500,000 people.[3][4] In August 2015, Samaritan Aviation launched a multi-city tour, introducing their second Cessna 206 floatplane and making stops in Dallas, San Antonio, Denver, Montrose, Prescott, Mesa, and Kingman before shipping the plane to Papua New Guinea.[5]

Samaritan Aviation provides emergency transport to hospital for child whose hip had been dislocated for 3 weeks

Over the years, the floatplanes have acted as flying ambulances and transport for vaccines to prevent the spread of measles, whooping cough, and polio. [6] After adding a second plane, two additional pilots (three in total), and a Medical Director over the course of 10 years of operations, Samaritan Aviation began planning for expansion to Papua New Guinea’s Western Province. Another city tour was organized to raise funds for the planned expansion, including stops in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas. [7] [8] [9]

Partnerships

National Polio Campaign
Dr. Preston Karue, the PHA Rural Health Coordinator, educates a rural village about polio during the National Polio Campaign

After a resurgence of polio cases in 2018, Samaritan Aviation was called upon to partner with the ESP Provincial Health Authority, World Health Organization, and Rotary International to aid in the National Polio Vaccine Outreach.

[10] Through the use of their floatplanes, Samaritan Aviation made deliveries of polio vaccines and cold storage equipment to remote villages in the East Sepik Province. Many of these flights also included UN experts and other field workers helping to monitor the coverage rates and impact of the vaccination campaign. This was the first national OPV campaign since 2012. [11]

References
  1. Schmitz, Barbara, Samaritan Aviation Provides Only Air Ambulance Service in Papua New Guinea, Experimental Aircraft Association
  2. Gomez, Patrick, Meet the American Family Who Have Helped Save Almost 400 Lives in Papua New Guinea, People Magazine
  3. Herhold, Scott, Mark Palm’s mission in Papua New Guinea, Bay Area News Group
  4. Tulis, David, SAMARITAN AVIATION: SERVING PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S SEPIK RIVER BASIN, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
  5. Tulis, David, SAMARITAN AVIATION: SERVING PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S SEPIK RIVER BASIN, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
  6. Daniell, Jimmy, On East Texas stop, pilot tells of passion for helping people of Papua New Guinea, Longview News-Journal
  7. Barnes, Keith, Pilot raising money for Papua New Guinea humanitarian flights, Johnstonian News
  8. Daniell, Jimmy, On East Texas stop, pilot tells of passion for helping people of Papua New Guinea, Longview News-Journal
  9. Kostrzewa, Erik, Plane that will save thousands of lives makes a stop in Ionia, Fox 17 West Michigan
  10. Chambers, Noreen, Stamina and seaplanes: How UN partners are battling polio in PNG, United Nations Papua New Guinea
  11. Bauri, Mathias; Wilkinson, Amanda; Ropa, Berry; Feldon, Keith; Snider, Cynthia; Anand, Abhijeet; Tallis, Graham; Boualam, Liliane; Grabovac, Varja; Avagyan, Tigran; Reza, Mohammad; Mekonnen, Dessie; Zhang, Zaixing; Thorley, Bruce; Shimizu, Hiroyuki; Apostol, Lea Necitas; Takashima, Yoshihiro, Notes from the Field: Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Type 1 and Outbreak Response — Papua New Guinea, 2018, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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