Checking Out STARS


It takes a community to save a life By Tania Moffat


M


ention STARS and it immediately brings to mind the bright, red helicopter that services Manitobans outside of the city’s perimeter with life-saving emergency care. Te Shock


Trauma Air Rescue Society, appropriately acronymed STARS, operates 24 hours per day, seven days a week, out of six bases across Canada – Winnipeg, Regina, Saska- toon, Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie. Founded by Greg Powell, STARS took flight in 1985 with one helicopter and an emergency physician. It was built on passion, purpose and commitment to patient care; 30 years and 30,000 missions later, STARS is still com- mitted those same goals.


60 • Spring 2016


Critical care “All medical emergency calls outside of the perimeter


are routed through the Medical Transportation Coordi- nation Centre in Brandon. Depending on the severity of the call, we could either be dispatched immediately or be placed on pre-alert status until the ambulance arrives; re- sponding if they deem it to be necessary,” explains Troy Pauls, a STARS paramedic. “Tink of the southern portion of the province and imagine a similar distance around the city, that is the area that we generally respond to. Calls exceeding 250 kilo- metres will usually have a fixed-wing air ambulance dis- patched,” explains Sarah Painter, a STARS nurse. “How-


The Hub


All photos courtesy of STARS.


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