STARS is known for being ready to fly to wherever they need to go to help Manitobans, but their most recent fiscal year saw the most action yet.
Blake Robert, communications officer for STARS Manitoba, says the fiscal year runs from April 1st to March 31st. During that time, they flew 773 missions from their base in Winnipeg, making this their busiest year since they began serving the province 10 years ago.
"Of those 773 (calls), 491 were interfacility transfers and the remaining 282 were scene calls," explains Robert. "Interfacility transfer is when somebody needs rapid transport with an advanced critical care team as we have on the helicopter from a smaller rural health facility to a major hospital such as the Health Sciences Centre or Saint Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg."
He explains that a scene call is when STARS is needed to pick up someone who has found themselves in a condition where they can't get themselves to proper care. Robert mentions that Steinbach is tied with Portage la Prairie for the location where STARS Manitoba has travelled to the most, with 54 missions each.
"We're well on track to have another busy year," notes Robert. "But for us, busy means we're out there helping Manitobans who need that critical care, and they need that transport to a major trauma centre in the city, and so we're happy to be able to provide that service."
Robert mentions that, even after 5,000 missions have flown in the province of Manitoba, the goal stays the same: to provide the best help to the residents of Manitoba.