Key Personnel

Debbie started her aviation career in 2000 as a travel coordinator for the Government of Canada. She discovered Perimeter airlines in 2001 where she excelled in the fast-paced environment of Winnipeg Operations.

She then joined Calm Air as a flight attendant to gain hands on experience and knowledge of northern Manitoba and Nunavut. In 2007, Debbie returned to Perimeter as a air ambulance flight follower. From there she assisted in the growth of the air ambulance department and the transition of Perimeter from a Type C, to a Type B program, becoming the first licensed dispatcher in the company.

In 2014, Debbie was promoted to Air ambulance Operations Manager and shortly after became a member of the executive as Director of Air Ambulance Operations. In this role Debbie gained experience interacting with Government Officials and processes in overseeing the air ambulance operations.

With Debbie’s interest and passion of structured environment success, she added Director of SOCC onto her role in 2023. Debbie restructured the SOCC department to be prepared for continued growth and led the team through a full transition of a new operational software.

As Debbie’s passion remains with Air ambulances, in 2024 she accepted a position with sister company Keewatin Air as Vice President of Medical. Debbie is leading the medical team through adjustments of restructuring, focusing on training, policies, procedures, and medical control protocols for best practice and patient care.

Cathy Penner is Keewatin Ari LP’s Director of Flight Medical-Manitoba. She has held this role since January 2022.

Cathy is an active practicing RN with over 33 years of nursing experience specializing in neonatal and pediatric critical care including skills and expertise required to medevac the critically ill neonate/pediatric population extensive knowledge of the resuscitation principles for neonatal patients, specifically the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), and the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) standards.

Prior to joining Keewatin Air LP Cathy worked with the Child Health Transport Team (formerly known as the Manitoba Neonatal Transport Team) for Manitoba Shared Health for over 25 years. As part of this position Cathy acted as a transport nurse clinician on hundreds of Manitoba Government Air Services (MGAS) flights within the Province of Manitoba, NW Ontario, Nunavut, and on occasion into other regions of Canada and the USA.

In addition to her position at Keewatin Air LP, Cathy is also an active instructor at the University of Manitoba Clinical Learning Simulation Facility (CLSF) – Brodie Centre where she instructs Physicians and Residents in NRP. Cathy is also an instructor trainer for the Acute Care of the at-risk neonate (ACoRN) Program.

Cathy takes great pride and satisfaction from designing and enabling processes that allow for medical professionals to further their knowledge and experience, especially in the aeromedical industry, and has a particular interest in neonatal care.