The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service is a Canadian non-profit helicopter air ambulance organization funded by individual donors, service groups, corporate donors and government contributions.
STARS was founded 40 years ago, and has operated in Saskatchewan for the past 13 years.
The Emergency Link Centre is located in Calgary and is staffed 24/7.
Each STARS helicopter has four crew members – two pilots, one paramedic and one nurse. Pilots require 3,000 hours of training. Paramedics and nurses require ten years of ICU experience. It is more than a transport vehicle. It is a flying ICU well equipped to support life while in transit. The paramedics and nurses can give blood transfusions, operate a hand held ultrasound and perform many life-saving tasks.
The H145 dual engine, five bladed helicopter can fly at 250 kilometres per hour. Its flying range is 300 kilometres, but there are fuel caches all over the province allowing it to fly anywhere in the province.
STARS has flown over 60,000 missions, 10,000 in Saskatchewan. They fly three to five missions per day, facilitating inter facility transfers and on-scene emergency calls, sometimes in very remote areas.
The STARS program costs an average of $11.4 million per year. 50% is funded by government and 50% by the community. The average cost of a mission is $10,000
