BARRHEAD - The County of Barrhead considers their annual contribution to STARS Air Ambulance money well spent.
That is what County of Barrhead reeve Doug Drozd told donor relations and development officer Shannon Paquette following her July 16 presentation to council.
STARS is a non-profit society that provides air ambulance services to critically ill patients in Alberta, northeastern B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Greg Powell, a doctor at Calgary's Foothills Hospital, helped found STARS in the mid-1980s after he could not save a young mother who was transported to the hospital by ground ambulance that he felt he could have saved if she arrived at the hospital earlier.
Next year, the society will be celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Currently, the County of Barrhead contributes $7,500.
Paquette said that Premier Danielle Smith announced last month that the province would renew its contract with the air ambulance service for 10 years, providing it with $15 million annually.
"Which is incredible, but that still leaves us a large amount that we need to fundraise," she said.
Paquette added that STARS has three Alberta helicopter bases, each with operational costs of roughly $11.4 million, not including administrative expenses or its emergency link centre.
In 2023, she said the STARS Lottery accounted for the most significant portion of its fundraising efforts, bringing in $10.7 million. The organization then raised $18 million from corporate and individual donors and its municipal initiative.
Local stats
In 2023, STARS responded to 18 missions in Barrhead, 17 of which were critical inter-facility transfers originating from ground ambulances and flown from the Barrhead Healthcare Centre, and one was an on-scene response. So far in 2024, STARS has flown 10 missions from Barrhead, all critical inter-facility transfers.
Since 2020, STARS has flown 69 Barrhead missions, with 10 on-scene calls, five near the Town of Barrhead, two from the Lac La Nonne area and three near Neerlandia.
However, Paquette said 108 County of Barrhead residents have benefited from STARS services since 2010.
"Eighty-five picked up from within the County of Barrhead and 23 area residents flown from 14 other locations," she said. "[These statistics] are a testament showing that STARS is providing critical care to your residents wherever they are across Western Canada."
Emergency Link Centre
Paquette said the STARS Emergency Link Centre, at its Calgary headquarters, integrates with all the dispatch and resource centres across the province.
"Since we are the primary dispatch centre, we also provide dispatch services for [HALO and HERO air ambulance services] in southeastern and northeastern Alberta, receiving about 36,000 requests annually," she said.
Paquette said STARS Emergency Link Centre, in addition to providing dispatch services, also provides expert medical care virtually, whether that is assisting ground and fixed-wing ambulance medical personnel or emergency room physicians.
"Whatever we have to do to get the knowledge of our staff to the patient," she said.
Paquette used the hypothetical situation of a patient being transported to the Barrhead Healthcare Centre via ground ambulance.
"Because of the critical level of care required, they call STARS. While the [air crew] is dispatched, our physician-on-call can work with Barrhead hospital staff, providing procedural guidance," she said. "Once we have the patient and are on the way to the receiving hospital, we can be talking to their specialists on operating room ready so they can bypass the ER."
Reeve Doug Drozd asked if the Emergency Link Centre could potentially replace a local ER physician.
Paquette said no, but Emergency Link Centre staff would consult virtually with local medical first responders, hospital physicians, and nursing staff, noting that, on every shift, they have two flight paramedics and nurses and an on-call transfer physician.
"STARS sees so many situations, and they undergo 200 hours of training annually, and the level of critical care that we attend to, sometimes it is higher than what a rural hospital may have available," she said.
Paquette noted that STARS flies day and night missions and was the first air ambulance service to carry two — now four — units of universal blood.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
