Residents may be able to catch a glimpse of the new STARS air ambulance in a couple weeks.
In October, STARS announced the arrival of its new helicopter at the Calgary base. The chopper expands the service’s speed, range and capacity. Because STARS works closely with first responders throughout the province, it is working on familiarizing these departments with the new equipment.
“This is sort of the first time we have changed platforms by way of a new aircraft, so just to make sure we connect to our community partners, such as a hospital staff, EMS, Fire and RCMP, we are inviting them all for a show and tell type demonstration,” said Paul Lapointe, manager of continuing education for STARS.
The chopper will be in Drumheller on January 24 at 8:30 a.m. They have not finalized where they will be landing for the demonstration. While it is not billed as a public event, he imagines that there will be a few who will want to see the new helicopter.
This is the second new helicopter that STARS has commissioned. The AW139 replaces the former BK117. They are manufactured in Philadelphia by AgustaWestland and cost about $16 million fully outfitted for STARS service. The new helicopters have greater range and speed. While it will have the same ability to carry two patients, there is a little more breathing room.
“We currently have the capacity to carry two patients with our current helicopter… but it is pretty tight,” said Lapointe. “With this new helicopter there is definitely more room for the crew to work on two patients.”
STARS anticipates putting the craft in full service early in the new year after an intensive training program for crews and emergency service providers.
"The nice thing is we have been anticipating these for a number of years, we have actually got out in the community quite a bit and have done a lot of training with our rural partners, that has been going on for quite a while now.” said Lapointe. “We are in a position where we are ready to go into operation.”
