STARS to shine full time

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Scott Stirton, CEO of Smith Carter Architects, sits in the cockpit of the STARS chopper as he chats with pilot Graham MacKay. (BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

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Helipad to sit atop new centre at HSC. (HANDOUT ART)

You might say the stars began to align for a permanent helicopter ambulance service in Manitoba when a chopper was dispatched to rescue eight-year-old Samuel Gross near Westroc Hutterite colony during the 2009 flood.

The boy nearly drowned when fast-moving water dragged him into a culvert. Members of the colony provided CPR but got no response.

An air ambulance service the province leased for the flood -- Alberta-based Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) -- was dispatched. On board was a nurse, a paramedic and two pilots. The helicopter landed at the colony, 35 kilometres northwest of Portage la Prairie, and whisked the boy to Winnipeg in mere minutes.

He survived.

Then, just 13 days later, the same helicopter was called to the scene of a highway crash near Plum Coulee, 117 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg. Helicopter and crew played an instrumental role in saving the life of a 21-year-old woman.

The two incidents got the Manitoba government thinking about providing a permanent helicopter ambulance service. Provincial officials did some research and figured that as many as 50 lives could be saved each year in Manitoba with a chopper as part of its ambulance fleet.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Theresa Oswald signed a memorandum of understanding with the non-profit STARS to provide the service on a permanent basis in Manitoba.

STARS made a return trip to Manitoba in April for this spring's major flood. And now it's here for good.

Since arriving April 1, helicopter and crew have responded to 60 calls and transferred 34 critically ill or injured persons to hospital.

"There's no question... that STARS intervening in these emergency situations has meant the difference between some of those individuals living and some of them dying. It isn't any plainer than that," Oswald told a news conference announcing the deal Tuesday.

The government and STARS are still negotiating the details of their agreement. The province will spend $5 million to purchase a helicopter. It estimates it will cost $1.5 million to $2 million a year to operate and staff it.

At first, the service will continue to ferry patients to the Winnipeg airport, where they will be transferred to ground ambulances. But plans were announced Tuesday to build a helicopter landing pad atop a new seven-storey, $39 million diagnostic imaging centre being built at Health Sciences Centre on William Avenue. Construction begins this summer; the facility will be completed in two years.

The new structure will be right next to the Ann Thomas Building, which contains the Health Sciences Centre's adult and child emergency departments. The two buildings and others will be connected by skywalks and tunnels, said Real Cloutier, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's chief operating officer. "Faster arrival at the facility means better chance for recovery," he said.

In Alberta, much of STARS' operating costs are covered through fundraising initiatives and private donations. Husky Energy, for instance, has donated $1 million to the cause over the years. The service has also inked a long-term agreement with Alberta Health Services.

Oswald told reporters Tuesday two Manitoba private donors have already expressed an interest in contributing to the STARS service, but she said it was too soon to release their names. "I don't think it would be fair. I don't have their consent to do that," she said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Oswald and STARS chief executive officer Dr. Greg Powell said the service would do everything possible to minimize the amount of noise city residents around HSC will suffer because of the helicopter ambulance.

Powell said pilots will fly over less populated parts of the city as much as they can and will adjust their routes depending on the wind.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Helicopter ambulance

The service: a helicopter ambulance operated by Alberta-based non-profit Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS)

The helicopter: a Eurocopter BK 177 that can fly 500 kilometres without refuelling

The cost: $5 million for the chopper and an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million a year for staff and to operate it

The gain: The province estimates the service could save 50 lives a year by transporting patients to hospital more quickly

The landing pad: The province is building a helicopter pad atop a new $39-million, seven-storey diagnostic imaging centre to be built at the Health Sciences Centre on William Avenue. Until it's constructed, the ambulance will continue to take patients to the Winnipeg airport.

About STARS

STARS established its first base in Calgary in 1985.

It now operates out of Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie, Alta.

Earlier this year, Saskatchewan committed $5 million to bring STARS to that province. STARS will open bases in Regina and Saskatoon in 2012.

Much of the service's costs are paid by private and corporate donors.

Since 1985, STARS has responded to more than 20,000 emergencies.

Generally, half its missions are on-scene calls to highways, industrial work sites and remote areas, while the other half involve inter-hospital patient transfers.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 29, 2011 B1