Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

By Abby Zieverink

STARS Grande Prairie

STARS documentary celebrates over 15 years in Grande Prairie

Jan 14, 2022 | 12:00 PM

STARS is celebrating over 15 years in Grande Prairie.

To mark the occasion, a documentary has been posted on the STARS Air Ambulance YouTube channel.

Glenda Farnden, the Senior Municipal Liaison with STARS for Alberta and B.C., says TELUS had previously reached out offering to create a documentary highlighting the STARS Grande Prairie base.

“They felt it was vital that we have 15 years in Grande Prairie and it’s pertinent to the Northern Region.”

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With the local STARS base serving all of the north, celebrating 15 years holds significant meaning in the community.

“When we very first started out, the rest of the province basically had STARS 20 years or more, and we never had that opportunity in the north,” explained Farden.

After working with key stakeholders, including the oil and gas industry and healthcare, Farnden tells EverythingGP it became quite apparent northern residents wanted to see a base in Grande Prairie.

Farnden, who started working at the Grande Prairie STARS base 10 days before the grand opening has watched it build from the ground, up.

“When we had the grand opening at the base, my first project was to find all local stakeholders to let them know this service was available to our northern region and to all of their residents.”

She adds bringing everyone together, and letting people know STARS was in the Swan City, was a step in the right direction.

“Building from there, it became quite evident, as I spoke about in the documentary, that we needed to have a helipad in order to land at the receiving hospital.”

Farnden adds a helipad then became their first priority.

“Everyone throughout the north all came together to have that helipad built and paid for in months. It was mind-boggling and awe-inspiring.”

Farnden says celebrating 15 years of the Grande Prairie STARS base is heartwarming as she says STARS has and continues to be vital for a robust health and safety network in the region.

Looking forward, Farden says they are hoping to continue building what she calls solid relationships throughout the region.

“With all of the municipalities and the rural residents as well as the City of Grande Prairie. They just opened the new (Grande Prairie Regional) hospital, and we have a helipad there so that’s the first aspect.”

The second aspect they are hoping to build on is furthering some of those relationships with other northern communities to expand helipads at other hospitals in the north.

“It is vital that when you have a helicopter service that you can land at a co-located area with a hospital, that’s a key aspect to northern residents. So as we move forward we continue to work very closely with Alberta Health Services so that, together, we can ensure that we all have the highest level of critical care available to everyone.”

Farden says she is grateful for the continual support of the northern region to STARS over the past 15 years and looks forward to seeing the future of STARS in the north.