STARS celebrates 10,000 missions in Saskatchewan

STARS familiar red helicopters have been helping save lives in Saskatchewan for over a decade. The air ambulance service has just reached the 10,000 mission milestone in the province.

“In late December of 2023, we reached our 10,000 mission milestone so quite significant but at the same time couldn’t do it without the support of all the communities across Saskatchewan,” said Darcy McKay, the provincial director of STARS.

The ten thousandth mission comes about two years after an event marking STARS’ tenth anniversary saw patients who were saved by the service speak about what their flight has meant.

“10 years later I’ve been able to celebrate so many things, my kids growing up,” said former patient Carrie Derin.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts from across Saskatchewan sent to your device

There have been changes over the past decade. The original helicopters have being replaced by new ones and more equipment and supplies onboard.

“From having blood on board, ultrasound, it’s continually growing so you’re continually learning – which is a good thing,” McKay said.

Communications with medical professionals on the ground have also been enhanced.

“We used to just radio or use the cellphone on scene to talk to our transport physician and now we can actually send what we are seeing to that transport physician,” McKay explained.

Whether it’s an electrocardiogram or an ultrasound – medical personnel on the ground have the ability to follow along with STARS crews step by step.

“What we’re bringing … makes everything quicker and smoother and it opens up doors to where that patient needs to go.”

STARS flies about 1,000 missions annually. Now having passed the 10,000 mark, STAR believes it has been to virtually every community in Saskatchewan.