聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 STARS Air Ambulance has kicked off the STARS Saskatchewan Lottery, their largest fundraiser, and Bonnie Monteith, Communications Lead, spoke to The Observer about the importance of the non-profit organization which saves lives.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e are a helicopter air ambulance organization that provides specialized emergency medical care and transportation for critically ill and injured patients,鈥� Monteith stated.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here are two types of calls that STARS may be dispatched to: a scene call (e.g. motor vehicle incident, ATV roll over) or an inter-facility transfer call (critically ill patient that requires transport from one facility to another for care).鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 STARS is a huge asset in Western Canada where Monteith says under than half of the population in the west lives in urban centres with access to immediate critical care within minutes of an incident.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淔or the other half such access is measured in hours,鈥� Monteith stated. 鈥淭hat can mean the difference between life and death; full recovery or permanent damage.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淓very day, STARS takes care of some of the sickest and most critically injured patients in Saskatchewan. While in the air, these patients receive the highest level of care available. Our service is important because: our ambulances are more than an ambulance in the air; they are a sophisticated medical environment brought directly to the patient, be it at the side of the road or at a small rural hospital. On board, a full array of medications and equipment is at the disposal of the medical crew. We can administer life-saving drugs, defibrillate a patient鈥檚 heart, transfuse blood, or even peer inside your body using portable ultrasound technology.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Flying in this medical environment are two pilots, a flight nurse, and a flight paramedic, while a transport physician will join the team on-scene under special circumstances. Crews are on-call for the day shift of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. or the night shift of 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 These medical professionals respond, on average, within eight minutes of getting the call during the day and 10 minutes at night. To Carlyle, as a reference for the area, it takes them 56 minutes on average to be on-scene from the base.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 STARS respond to a scene in one of two ways according to Monteith: 鈥淲hen a scene call comes in to 911, STARS鈥� Emergency Link Centre (ELC) is alerted of the call through an early automated dispatch system. The situation is then evaluated against standard criteria that determine whether or not STARS should be dispatched. As well, EMS on the site of a scene call may also request STARS based on their assessment of a patient鈥檚 condition.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A STARS transport physician is then made available to consult with the sending and receiving physicians to determine if a critically ill or injured patient should be sent via Saskatchewan Air Ambulance, ground ambulance, or STARS.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Working alongside local emergency crews is essential, not only for the benefits of them stabilizing patients and responding to the incident as first responders; but, for the importance of them on the ground when STARS is coming for a patient.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎 land zone officer (most often a volunteer firefighter, RCMP, or EMS member) from or near the incident area are also contacted by the ELC,鈥� Monteith says.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭heir role is to ensure it is clear of debris and obstacles. They will advise of power lines or other possible obstructions, and report on the ground covering and wind conditions. They will then set out a marked area for the helicopter to land. A landing zone officer will then determine the direction of the wind, place his back to it and kneel with his hands raised up, facing the marked landing zone to indicate the direction of the wind. It is standard to land the helicopter going into the wind.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 STARS became operational 30 years ago, since then they have flown over 29,000 missions from bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Grand Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淪ince establishing operations in Saskatchewan in 2012, STARS鈥� Regina and Saskatoon missions have flown more than 2,200 missions across the province,鈥� Monteith said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Of these missions many local communities have seen STARS numerous times: Alameda 鈥� 1, Arocla 鈥� 25, Carlyle 鈥� 6, Heward 鈥� 1, Kennedy 鈥� 1, Kenosee Lake 鈥� 3, Kisbey 鈥� 2, Lampman 鈥� 5, Maryfield 鈥� 2, Redvers 鈥� 2, Stoughton 鈥� 9, Wawota 鈥� 2, and White Bear Lake 鈥� 3.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ith STARS in the air, people living in rural Saskatchewan, working in remote areas, travelling on highways, or being transported from local hospitals to major medical centres receive the best critical care in an intensive care environment.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As a non-profit STARS relies on their government partner and individual donors, but also actively host fundraisers such as the STARS Lottery (this year鈥檚 lottery was recently launched), two evening fundraising events, yearly calendar and STARS merchandise sales, a golf tournament in Saskatoon (July 15, 2015 this year), and the generosity of communities and organizations across Saskatchewan through their dances, raffles, bake sales, and other fundraising events.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 All of this is to help STARS operate, which costs approximately $10 million per base annually; so, in Saskatchewan it costs $20 million to operate the bases in Regina and Saskatoon.
