It’s been a busy summer for STARS Air Ambulance with the service responding to a record number of calls for help.
The helicopters are projected to take on more than 1,800 life-saving missions this year, in Alberta alone. That’s a 30 per cent jump since 2009.
STARS flew more than 60 times in the past two weekends from only three bases-Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie.
The president and CEO said they are busy studying the numbers to ensure no Albertan is left without emergency medical care.
“We are analyzing it closely to determine if we are at a point where we need to add more resources,” said Andrea Robertson. “We don’t think we are there yet but it’s something we monitor very closely. We don’t want to be in a position where we are turning down a mission that we should be on.”
STARS is also zoning in on the Edmonton area, where the number of missions flown is expected to double since 2009. They plan to study data on the exact nature of their missions to see if there is any tie-in to the industrial boom in northern Alberta.
STARS is a charitable, non-profit organization. It also has bases in Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg.
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