Local pilots part of STARS team

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Two pilots from Headingley are part of Manitoba STARS air ambulance and are working to save lives.

Paul Adams and Ray Grenkow, both former Royal Canadian Air Force members with many years of flying experience, are among the 10 pilots, 10 critical care nurses and 10 paramedics with critical care training who regularly fly from the Winnipeg airbase (155A West Hangar Rd.) on emergency calls.

STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) is a non-profit organization that operates around the clock from bases in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, providing fast response, on-site health care services and patient transportation when accidents occur or help is needed outside major city limits. As well as responding to accidents, STARS is used to transport patients from smaller to larger hospitals.

Adams joined STARS about four years ago after deciding to leave active military duty. “The roles and missions are close to what I was used to,” he said.

Grenkow has been with STARS for two years, and like Adams, is also a reservist.

Many of the STARS emergency response flights happen at night and in remote locations. This can entail having to land the helicopter on a narrow roadway or a field.

“These emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time,” Adams said.

STARS communications manager Cam Heke said there have been 19 missions in the past two years within the rural municipalities of Headingley, St. Francois Xavier and Macdonald. In 2016, STARS responded to about 610 calls from across Manitoba.

Heke said, while the STARS medical staff are on their way to an accident scene, local first responders such as police, firefighters and paramedics are often working to treat the injured and keep the scene safe.

“We are part of a bigger team,” he said.

To meet Transport Canada regulations, each STARS flight carries two pilots: one whose primary duty is flying and landing the helicopter; and the other who is responsible for assessing weather conditions, watching fuel levels, staying in contact with air traffic controllers, communicating with the flight’s medical crew and those at the scene, then help keep the scene safe after landing. Grenkow said the helicopter is usually left running and the pilots must ensure that people aren’t in danger within the aircraft area.

Adams recalls an emergency call to the scene of a highway accident between a semi-truck and small car. The car’s driver was seriously injured and had to be extracted from the car.

“The fact that we carried blood and advanced equipment meant that they were able to administer blood on-scene.”

Thanks to an $18,000 donation from Enbridge, the Manitoba STARS crew has just added an onboard ultrasound machine, Heke said. It will facilitate the early diagnosis of such things as a collapsed lung, fluid build-up around the heart, and blood in the abdomen.

Another major improvement to the Manitoba STARS operations comes from the opening of a helipad at the Health Sciences Centre on Dec. 19. This allows the helicopter to fly patients directly to the hospital, instead of having to take them to an aircraft landing site, transfer them to an ambulance and drive them to hospital.

“It’s only a four-minute flight from the STARS base to the HSC helipad,” Grenkow said, in comparison to the approximately 30 minutes needed to transfer a patient from the helicopter into an ambulance then drive to the HSC.

As well, Heke said, the helipad allows STARS to quickly pick up medical specialists or equipment needed before flying to an emergency location.

STARS also provides medical training to emergency care providers.

Fundraising is done through the STARS Foundation.

For more information on STARS, see www.stars.ca

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