Those alongside STARS Manitoba are hoping to continue receiving support from the city.
Daryl Braun, Donor Relations, Development & Community Engagement Officer, attended City Council on April 12th, alongside Colleen Mayer, Director of Donor Relations & Development Foundation Manitoba, in the hopes to push them toward aiding STARS financially. He says STARS first came to Manitoba temporarily in 2009 to help with flood issues. After taking a short stint away from Manitoba they came back in 2011 and were asked to stay full-time.
STARS provides air-ambulance services, allowing them to transport people to hospitals from areas that regular ambulances may not be able to reach.
“Over the last fiscal year, we flew 773 missions in Manitoba, an average of more than two every day,” explains Braun. “We’ve been to Portage 285 times in the first ten years, so that’s a little over two times a month on average. This past year we were here 54 times.”
Braun adds that one of his favourite things about STARS is that those who need to use their service don’t have to worry about paying any bills after the fact. He says he’s received calls from STARS patients that were stressed about the costs, only to breathe a huge sigh of relief when told they don’t need to worry.
“STARS is equipped like a mobile emergency room and intensive care unit,” notes Braun. “We've got blood on board, blood analysis, ultrasound, we can intubate patients,” says Braun. “So, the level of care is considerably more extensive than what’s provided in a ground ambulance.”
He mentions over 75 per cent of municipalities support STARS on an annual basis, and they're hoping Portage la Prairie will join them.
Fri, May 3, 6:00 PM
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