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Living Sky considering STARS site for Kerrobert

Jun 20, 2017 | 8:00 AM

Living Sky School Division is considering transferring some of its school land in Kerrobert to accommodate the STARS air ambulance service for a landing site.

The issue came up at a recent school board meeting.

Ultimately, the board decided to wait until the province looks at the proposal. The board expects to make a decision on the issue at its next meeting.

Interim director of education Randy Fox said the land that’s adjacent to Kerrobert Composite School isn’t being used, so the division is looking at allowing STARS (Shock, Trauma Air Rescue Service) to use the site for patient transfers from the nearby hospital in Kerrobert to Saskatoon hospital, for example.

Currently, STARS air ambulance is landing at the Kerrobert Airport and needs to use a land ambulance to transport patients from the hospital.

“We do this and try to be good partners with our communities,” said Fox. “It’s a benefit to the community. It’s really a benefit to our province, to have the (landing) site. So, trying to be good partners, we do what we can to facilitate agreements like this.”

If the agreement proceeds, Living Sky would transfer the surplus land to the town of Kerrobert for $1 so STARS is able to access the land as a landing pad. If at some point, STARS no longer were to use this site, the town could transfer it back to Living Sky for the same token fee. 

STARS will use what land is provided in the agreement for the service.  

Fox said student safety is also always of upmost priority. STARS would be able to contact the school division well in advance of any air ambulance helicopter landings so the school would take extra precautions to ensure there are no students anywhere near the site during these times.  

“We would get good warning before helicopters were coming in, to make sure students were safe and not near the landing pad,” he said.

Barry Tolmie, the STARS air ambulance aviation manager in Saskatoon, said it would benefit patients and the community if STARS air ambulance could land closer to the hospital in Kerrobert to reduce delays.

“If everything is in order and approved, it’s always better to land at the hospital itself,” he said. “So that it would just be a case of wheeling the helicopter stretcher into the hospital, pick-up the patient, and wheel the stretcher out. We would not have to do an ambulance transfer.” 

He said everyone has to be in favour including the school division and the town for the project to move ahead.

“Everything would have to be taken into consideration, with respect with the school being  there,” Tolmie added. “There would have to be safety steps taken.”

STARS is hoping to make the move as soon as possible, but in the meantime it continues to use its landing base at Kerrobert Airport.

Tolmie added there is also an ongoing consultation process taking place related to the move.

“They have been talking in Kerrobert about what options are available and this was a possible option,” added Tolmie, “I know they are discussing it back and forth to see the feasibility of it to make sure – because there are a lot of factors involved. Once that comes back, then it is either going to be yea or nay. Then, we will move on from there. But the main thing is we are still providing the service to the Kerrobert area via the Kerrobert Airport. If it’s nay, they would go back to the drawing board as to what other locations that possibly could be used that are in a close distance to the hospital.”

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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