Helicopters Without Borders is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization that offers affordable aviation to humanitarian efforts, with a focus on removing barriers to health and wellness affecting Canada’s most remote and underserved communities.
It was born out of a vision for a province where every individual, regardless of location, enjoys access to basic health and wellness services.
In practice, this translates to flight programs that transport primary care healthcare professionals into isolated communities. British Columbia is home to some of the most mountainous and hard-to-traverse terrain. Many places are only accessible by boat or air. With the application of our knowledge and experience with helicopter flight, we have cut transport time radically. One recent example is a flight to Port Douglas, or Xa’xtsa First Nation that was 30 minutes in the air. This community is reachable by road but to transport a medical professional from Vancouver the reality is a 5-hour drive in fair weather conditions including bumpy logging roads. In poor conditions or winter months, this drive can be as long as 7 or 8 hours.
Our primary care flights also alleviate the logistical challenges and financial strain placed on individual community members who traditionally had to travel to urban centres to receive care.
The clinical workers transported by HWB to date include: registered nurses, dentists and dental therapists, mental health and addiction support workers, social workers, occupational therapists, dieticians, optometrists, audiologists, midwives, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders, primary care physicians, and more. In addition, we are continually expanding our services to bring essential services into the communities that need them most.
Since our inaugural flight in 2021, and in partnership with several Indigenous governments and health authorities we have facilitated over 5,600 health practitioner sessions, dozens of low-acuity patient transfers, the transport of 124,000 lbs of emergency, medical and food supplies, 3,500 vaccines, and have flown over 72,000 km in partnership with BC’s most isolated Indigenous communities; a combined distance thirteen times the length of Canada – and all while being carbon neutral.
Our mission’s significance is reflected in a recent program that took place on April 25th, 2024, when we airlifted a team of healthcare providers—family doctors, dentists, and diabetes nurses—to the remote community of Rivers Inlet (traditionally known as Wuikinuxv) by helicopter. Rivers Inlet, one of Western Canada’s most isolated areas with no road access, relies solely on air transport or a challenging 4 to 8-hour boat journey through treacherous Rocky Mountain weather. Access to basic and comprehensive healthcare is scarce for this community.
A cornerstone of our programming is our completely mobile, fly-in dental clinic. Through conversations within the communities we serve, oral care has emerged as a major need and many people have gone without regular access to dental care for decades. In response, HWB has built two fully mobile dental clinics that can be broken down and transported by helicopter. These clinics, the first of their kind in Canada, allow dental health professionals to perform anything from a cleaning to a full cavity removal or root canal and can be set up in any location with a regular power hookup, that can be properly sanitized.
Patients are now able to access reliable dental care with a dental team that is paired with the community and is aware of the importance of consistency and continuity of care. In a three-day trip, our dental team is able to see upwards of 60 patients. That is 120 patient travel days saved and all the associated personal costs that typically incur.
The feedback we have received from the communities we work with has been nothing short of amazing. We have found that through consistent and reliable care people are taking ownership of their healthcare needs and requesting specialists, or providers.
We are here to respond to those needs and community direction and deliver comprehensive care to their doorsteps.
Helicopters Without Borders is an organization committed to growing the number of remote communities that have access to life-changing, preventative and acute care. We strive for a future where every British Columbian has access to the same standard of care, and we truly believe that our fly-in clinic model is a stepping stone to that future.
