Cypress seeks stronger, less political partnership before backing STARS

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Southern Alberta Newspapers

Cypress County has made a motion not to commit to providing funding for STARS Air Ambulance, citing a lack of partnership.

A request was brought forward at a recent council meeting, with the foundation requesting $2 per capita for 2024 and 2025, for a total of $30,096. While the initial motion made was to provide the funding, discussion from council led to this motion being withdrawn.

Councillors discussed issues regarding a comparative lack of rescues made in the area as opposed to local service HALO, and instances where council believed politics had gotten in the way of a timely arrival.

Coun. Keith Ritz added that “having had STARS and HALO fly into our community on many occasions, there is value in both organizations. I have seen them at times when HALO could have been there sooner. There was a little bit of politics in there I guess, and so I’m a little bit hesitant to just support them 100 per cent without more discussion.”

Other issues raised were a lack of data in regards to the number of calls STARS responds to in the area, due to the inclusion of HALO stats within the numbers, said Coun.r Dustin Vossler. He added that while the donation itself is not an issue, he would like to see more co-operation and communication from STARS before committing to funding.

“Our biggest issue with this,” said Reeve Dan Hamilton, “is STARS doesn’t play nice in the sandbox with a dispatch, and there’s a lot of politics that’s going on there. And in my opinion until they straighten that out, we shouldn’t be helping them at all.”

Council agreed that while it is likely STARS will have an increased presence in the area, and this isn’t an issue of funding or safety as they have both air ambulance services operating in the region, they want to see STARS working more smoothly with existing services, and council’s priority remains supporting HALO.

The passed motion stated that council acknowledges the vital contribution of STARS to Alberta’s health-care system, but will not commit to funding at this time.