submitted by Legal Lions Club
On 6 June 2024 fourteen seniors from Chateau Sturgeon Lodge and the Town of Legal had the unique opportunity to get a tour of the STARS facility at the Edmonton International Airport. The tour was organized by the Legal Lions Club who were making a donation to STARS and decided that it was a great chance to include the seniors from Legal as part of Seniors Week in Alberta. The last time this was done was over 5 years ago and all of the seniors were very excited to go on this tour as it is usually a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The Lions Clubs in western Canada have a vested interest in supporting Stars and have made it one of their prime initiatives to ensure its continued success. The Rotary Air Ambulance program, initially named Lions Air Ambulance Service, was established in 1985 and its first mission was to transport a critically ill infant to care in Calgary. To this day Dr. Greg Powell, founder of Stars is still an active supporter of the program and spends countless hours helping to fundraise on its behalf.
STARS are very active in western Canada and have completed over 60,000 missions since inception in 1985. They average 3,732 yearly missions, with an average of 10 per day. Many lives have been saved because of the availability of this specialized critical care medical service. Operating centres for STARS are located in Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
The tour of the facilities included the hanger where everyone got the opportunity to chat with the pilots, nurses and operations staff. Topping off the tour everyone entered the training facility that housed the human patient simulator, a sophisticated mannequin that crews practice medical scenarios on.
The Legal Lions are honoured to be a part of the monetary support for the STARS program and were elated that they were able to add to the enjoyment of a number of seniors. Special thanks goes out to Jocelyn Anselmo, Community Engagement Officer, the pilots, nurses and staff of the STARS Edmonton Centre.
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