STARS Air Ambulance mobile training unit spent Thursday and Friday in Killarney last week to participate in the Al Babiuk Memorial Fundraiser for STARS and to raise money for purchasing a ventilator for Killarney's Tri-Lake Health Centre.
The fundraiser brought in well over $100,000 for the two initiatives. At the onset the soft goal was to raise $50,000 and the Killarney Foundation was eager to match the first $20,000. The split was to be 70/30 for STARS and the ventilator respectively. As of Friday morning, they collected $103,000 and donations were still coming in.
The event was spearheaded by Killarney resident, Al Babiuk, who suddenly passed away in a vehicle accident in mid-September. He was passionate about the STARS program, having participated in their annual fundraiser Rescue on the Island in 2020.
Killarney's Tri-Lake Health Centre physician Dr. Mark Bemment and Rachelle Bemment, Killarney's medical clinic manager, were instrumental in hosting the STARS training team Thursday and Friday for further training with their medical staff making it a two-fold initiative.
STARS flight paramedic and Community Outreach Lead for STARS Air Ambulance, Brent Bekaris, says the community support at Thursday's event at the Killarney firehall was amazing.
"It's simply incredible what they're doing, to raise funds here for a ventilator within the community," shares Bekaris. "And first and foremost, Al who had so much passion and energy and excitement and he really has a close place in our hearts within the STARS organization."
Bekaris says public fundraising is critical to their program that bring critical care to rural Manitoba. "One of the mottos for STARS is, 'we can bring critical care anywhere'".
"If the winds are favorable, our flight time, roughly in about 45 to 50 minutes we can be here within the community pick up that critically ill or injured patient and transport them back to a large center, whether that's Winnipeg or Brandon and that does happen occasionally. We bring essentially an ICU in the back of the aircraft, so we have a ventilator, emergency blood, an ultrasound. Everything that you would expect to see at a typical ICU we have in the back of the helicopter so we're bringing that critical care whether that's on scene or to a community such as this fantastic community."
STARS receives some funding from the provincial government, but it is not enough to sustain the program. So, they rely heavily on fundraising efforts such as what was done in Killarney last week.
Please listen to more with Brent Bekaris below as he shares more on STARS Air Ambulance fundraising and equipment.
Photos below are Brent Bekaris sharing information with community members, and members of the Killarney-Turtle Mountain Fire Department pose with the training mannequin inside the mobile unit's largest room.