Local resident Peter Garden said Waikaia had often suffered from the "post-code lottery", but healthcare became just as accessible as other more populated centres with a helipad in the community.
"We needed to have a private helipad ... it's a game changer for rural areas.
"It means that older people can come and retire in a remote area like this and know that they've got good access to healthcare."
The locals and various community organisations all contributed money towards it, he said.
The new helipad was placed on the site of an old concrete tennis court that had been sitting unused for some time.
Waikaia Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Paul Collins said while it was a Fire and Emergency New Zealand idea, having the support of the entire community was really what made the project take off.
"It’s for the community — actually having a designated area to land in, compared to before where it would be any random paddock, will make everything a lot easier for everyone," he said.
Before the installation of the helipad, medical evacuations, rescues and all sorts of call-outs for injuries and medical emergencies involved standing in a paddock, waiting for touch-down after the helicopter got the all-clear to land.
Now, it was a matter of heading straight to the helipad.
"It's going to make it a whole lot easier for everybody," he said.
