Reach for the stars and shoot for the moon.A long term funding agreement means the ubiquitous STARS air ambulance service will stay in the sky for at least the next 10 years.Sporting a bright blue flight jumpsuit, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the Alberta government will put up $15 million per year over the next ten years to ensure air ambulance service where its needed most — in rural and remote communities.“This new agreement means Albertans can rely on another 10 years of the iconic, red helicopters with their highly skilled medical professionals responding to crises wherever they happen,” she said at a Calgary press conference in the STARS hanger..For nearly four decades, STARS has been instrumental in delivering fast and effective emergency medical response services to Albertans, and Smith said this agreement ensures this will continue.And for nearly 40 years it has enjoyed a strong position in the community as a uniquely Albertan emergency response team, modelled after the medi-vac choppers deployed by the US Army in the Vietnam war.Since its inception the majority of its funding has come directly from community support as a registered charity.Smith said the group is a unique public/private partnership “that works.”In 2022 and 2023, STARS is reported to have handled 36,390 emergency requests and flew more than 3,300 missions. Smith said she actually witnessed an evacuation at Foothills hospital during her quick tour and flyover.It’s become so prevalent in the community, even government officials and cabinet ministers are indebted. In December of last year, STARS was called to evacuate one of Seniors Minister Jason Nixon’s twin sons in critical condition following a car crash on a remote rural road..Against that kind of omnipresent backdrop, STARS is a service Albertans simply can’t live without.Even with the secure funding stream, STARS president Katherine Emberly said It would continue with its popular community outreach programs such as the annual STARS lottery and calendar campaign.“You will certainly see a lottery and all of our fundraising efforts for many years to come,” she said. .“We love this partnership. You've got a long term stability in the government funding, but you also have the community stepping up in that allows us to really innovate. We really do appreciate that this is built by the community for the community and that is certainly our intention to the future.”
