Snowy Hydro Southcare's new chief executive knows the hope the sound of its rescue helicopter brings to Canberrans.
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Carol Bennett, the former head of Alzheimer's Australia, has just stepped into the role after Chris Kimball left at the end of July.
Describing herself as a "born and bred Canberra girl", Ms Bennett said she knows how much the chopper means to the communities that rely on it.
"Everyone knows the sight and the sound of the chopper in this region, it is the sound of hope really because when you hear it you know that somebodys life is probably being saved and I think it's really reassuring to the community," Ms Bennett said.
While she's never had to enlist the help of the chopper and its intensive care paramedics herself, she knows of people whose friends or family members have received their lifesaving care.
"When you talk to people around Canberra and the surrounding regions people will tell you all sorts of stories about [for instance] their friend who lost their hand and the crew managed to save it and they retained 50 per cent of their function, that was a coffee shop conversation I had last week," she said,
"You hope you never need to use the service but at least you know if you do you've heard all the stories, you see the impact this service has and you know we are really fortunate to have it at our disposal here."
Ms Bennett comes to the role after a long career in the health not-for-profit sector.
She has been chief executive of some of Australia's leading health organisations including the Consumers Health Forum of Australia, the Australian Rural and Remote Workforce Agencies Group and the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association.
Ms Bennett will oversee a period of significant change in the organisation, especially with a new AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter coming on board next April.
"Who wouldn't accept that challenge when it's such an iconic and important service to our region," Ms Bennett said.
"I'm just really proud to be able to make a contribution at a time that is so critical to the organisation and its development in providing a better service to the community."