STARS well-supported during 40th year in the air

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

 Jackie Seely, spokesperson for STARS air ambulance, appeared as a delegation before town council on March 9 and spoke about the organization’s history, current operations, and funding.

In recent years, the Town and MD of Taber both joined as regular stars supporters, and Barnwell and Vauxhall followed suit. STARS – the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service – is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

 On Aug. 19, 2024 council moved to become a STARS sponsor in the amount of $8,862, with funds to come from capital reserves. It also requested that the administration place $8,862 in future operating budgets going forward. Taber’s annual donation appears to be in line with one dollar per capita.

 Seely told council that STARS operates at no cost to patients and has saved many lives since its first mission in 1985. It has a fleet of 10 identically equipped helicopters and operates from six bases across Western Canada – in Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie, Saskatoon and Regina, and Winnipeg. Those sites serve all of Western Canada from Manitoba to locations in BC.

 “Wherever you may travel, we work with multiple partners in the chain of survival,” Seely said.

“The types of missions that we fly for have changed a little bit. Cardiac is now the number one type of mission that we fly for, and after that, vehicle incidents and a bit of a mix of everything else in there.”

 In the MD of Taber, STARS has responded to 61 missions since 2021, averaging 12 per year. Funding comes from Alberta Health Services, community fundraisers, the STARS lottery, and municipal support.

‘This year, we’ve already flown four missions as inter-facility transfers to the Taber hospital,’ she said. So normally, what’s happening is, when a patient is ill or injured, they’re coming in by ground ambulance. In some cases, it’s already critical, and that’s where we’re responding to the scene of an incident. So that’s where you can see all of the scene calls. And so that’s where we’re working with our different partners to achieve their survival, to give the patient the very best chance.’

 She gave credit to the troops on the ground at each location STARS delivers an urgent-care patient to. “A shout out to your fire department and all the fire departments throughout the region that assist with the safe landing of the helicopter. Then also our other partners: the police and ground EMS, AHS, fixed-wing Halo and the medical professionals at the hospitals.”

 The STARS lottery is open now and running until March 20 at starslottery.ca and over 2,000 prizes are up for grabs. The draws start on March 31 and the lottery often brings in $10 million, which comes close to cover the operating cost of one Alberta base.

 Seely gave a big picture overview of where the STARS funding comes from in Alberta. With $36.6 million indirect operating costs, $15 million of that is coming from its largest donor, Alberta Health Services. STARS has about nine years on its agreement with AHS at that block amount of funding, regardless of the number of missions that are flown.

 The other 59 per cent of direct operating costs come from a variety of different pillars of funding. Over 90 community-driven fundraisers operate province-wide and in Taber, the annual Charity Auction is a big contributor. Financial support is trending “way above” usual this year, Seely said, perhaps due in part to the 40th anniversary. STARS also collects corporate, individual and business donations.

 “Municipalities recognize stars as an essential part of your emergency services,” Seely said. Over 95 per cent of Alberta municipalities support the service at rates from under two dollars per capita up to $90 per capita.

 Council accepted the annual presentation as information and the Town remains a donor.