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STARS History

Medical emergency helicopter with red and white livery hovering above bare trees against a blue sky, registration C-GALI visible on fuselage.
A STARS BK117 helicopter powers up its rotors on it's last mission at the Calgary base. THE BK was finally retired in 2022 after 37 years of service.

2022

Completing our fleet renewal transition, the final operational flight of a BK117 helicopter touches down in December, capping off a legacy of safe and reliable service.

Two STARS liveried Airbus H145 helicopters hover off the ground at an event welcoming the first of their kind to Calgary operations.

2019

After years of planning and anticipation, the first of STARS' H145 fleet arrives in Calgary in April. On July 18, STARS flew its first mission with the helicopter type.

A group of people surround a STARS helicopter in 2015 celebrating the organizations 30th anniversary.

2015

STARS celebrates 30 years of care in the air and more than 29,000 missions carried out since the nonprofit launched in 1985.

A STARS AW139 helicopter hovers for a photo in this 2013 image

2013

STARS unveils two new donor-funded AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. The first patient transported by a STARS AW139 is flown in September.

Two STARS crew members in blue flight suits pose with clinically packaged human blood in front of a red helicopter inside a hangar.

2013

STARS' base in Regina becomes the first air medical service in Canada to begin stocking blood to be used for life-saving transfusions on air medical missions. The STARS Blood on Board initiative has since spread this service to all six bases.

A group of 15 people in STARS flight suits pose for a photo next to a red helicopter.

2012

STARS signs a 10-year agreement with the Government of Manitoba to provide helicopter air ambulance from a permanent base in Winnipeg. Bases in Regina and Saskatoon also open.

Then Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and STARS founder and then president Dr. Greg Powell sign documents contracting STARS to provide service to the people of Saskatchewan. STARS ambassador and supported Rod Gantefor looks on in the background.

2011

The province of Saskatchewan signs an agreement with STARS to establish helicopter air medical service in that province. Andrea Robertson assumes the role of STARS President & CEO.

2009

STARS sees the first class graduate from the STARS Critical Care and Transport Medicine Academy.

A photocopy of a newspaper headline announcing that Dr. Greg Powell had received the Order of Canada

2007

Dr. Gregory Powell, STARS founder and Chief Executive Officer, is made an officer in the Order of Canada.

STARS crew maneuver a stretcher through a gate during the early days of STARS operations in Grande Prairie.

2006

A third base opens in Grande Prairie, Alberta, on November 1. Within one year, crews fly over 116 missions in Peace Country from this base.

A STARS pilot wears and demonstrates a pair of night vision goggles that allow the crew to fly 24/7.

2003

STARS is the first civilian air carrier to use night-vision goggles (NVG) technology in Canada, carrying out a mission from southeastern Alberta to Calgary using NVG technology.

A STARS BK117 photo comes in to land at a mountain location.

2002

STARS is requested to be the air medical provider for the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. Also, STARS surpasses the 10,000-mission milestone.

2001

The International Association of Air Medical Services names STARS the recipient of its prestigious Program of the Year award. STARS is the first international and first Canadian program to receive this honour.

Two STARS crew work on a human patient simulator in a simulation environment.

1999

The Human Patient Simulator program is established through the support of Lions International Multiple District 37 and Lockerbie & Hole. The Chain of Survival Fund is established to provide community emergency service providers with financial assistance for medical equipment and training needs.

1998

STARS receives full accreditation as an international critical care provider from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).

STARS founder Dr. Greg Powell is photographed with at the time leader of the STARS Emergency Link Centre (ELC) and other dignitaries during the ribbon cutting of the new ELC space in Calgary in the late-1990s

1996

The STARS Emergency Link Centre is established with funding received from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

1996

STARS establishes the first helicopter air ambulance program in Nova Scotia under a five-year contract. STARS exits the province in 2001.

The original STARS mascot Starbear poses alongside a Calgary Tower mascot along with Calgary luminaries Lanny MacDonald, broadcaster Darrel Janz and entertainer Buck Shot.

1992

STARBEAR, the official mascot of STARS, is born.

A STARS operated BO105 lands atop the Royal Alexandria hospital in Edmonton after STARS started work in the city and surrounding area.

1991

STARS' Edmonton base is established and carries out its first mission in October. STARS is awarded rotary and fixed-wing air medical ambulance contracts for Edmonton and Calgary.

An early photo of Calgary first responders that includes STARS, fire department, city police and RCMP

1988

STARS receives formal recognition as an essential service when the organization is integrated into emergency planning for the Calgary Olympic Winter Games.

An early photo of a Lion Air Ambulance BK117 helicopter, that would eventually be renamed STARS. Lions Club International were the first to provide money to get STARS going.

1985

The rotary air ambulance program, initially named Lions Air Ambulance Service, is established, and the first mission is flown in December to transport a critically ill infant to tertiary care in Calgary.