Emergency calls and rescues can sometimes be a weighty issue for St John ambulance staff.
Most injuries to St John staff occur when they are loading patients in and out of ambulances.
But thanks to a $21,650 donation from the Rural Contractors New Zealand all the heavy lifting will be reduced to the push of a button.
The significant donation, handed over Wednesday, will go part-way to paying for the installation of a battery-powered powerlift stretcher.
St John Northland operations manager Tony Devanney said a new ambulance was set to roll in Northland in November and it would be kitted out with the new, easy-to-operate stretcher. It will be one of the first operating in New Zealand.