An Alberta-based critical care organization that operates in the region is seeking a funding partnership with the Regional District of East Kootenay.
A delegation from STARS (Shock, Trauma, Air Rescue Service) presented to the RDEK board on Friday seeking a funding partnership with the board, specifically requesting $2 per capita over three years, which roughly translates to $130,000 annually.
Ultimately, the request was referred to staff for inclusion into pending budget discussion for the 2025 cycle.
STARS is active in the East Kootenay, averaging 34 missions a year operating out of its base in Calgary. Since it began flying into the region in 2010, the organization has flown 604 missions, averaging about two a month, and has picked up over 200 patients within the RDEK jurisdiction.
The majority of calls frequently involve critical inter-facility transfers from hospitals in Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, and Invermere, in addition to scene-call emergencies that occur anywhere across the region.
There was some nuance around the RDEK table during the debate about the request.
Some directors signalled their support for some kind of RDEK contribution for STARS, such as Elkford Mayor Steve Fairbairn and Radium Hot Springs Mayor Mike Gray, who told a personal anecdote of STARS responding to a medical incident involving a family member.
"At the end of the day, it's got to be funded," said Gray. "This is a service that is absolutely critical to our area. The level of care that we receive as citizens of this area goes up by an order of magnitude by having this service available."
However, others felt the funding request should be made to the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District, which covers the same RDEK area, but also includes Creston and Golden, which also benefit from services provided by STARS and should also provide contributions.
However, the Hospital District is limited by the Hospital District Act, which facilitates funding for health care capital infrastructure — not operational — costs, as the cost split between infrastructure projects is shared 60 per cent by the province, and 40 per cent by local property taxation of residents who live within the hospital board jurisdiction.
Capital projects are funded annually using that cost split, however, the hospital district does not provide funding to support annual operational costs for health care services; that is the responsibility of the provincial government.
"No one is going to argue the importance of STARS to this region," said David Wilks, the Mayor of Sparwood and chair of the hospital board. "The challenge that we fall into with the hospital board is that, under the Hospital District Act, we can't fund operations. It's been a long stemming challenge that we've had with the [BC] government, saying that we need to modernize that act so that it's clearer for us."
Similar to its request to the RDEK, STARS has had partnership in place with the Peace River Regional District in northern B.C. for nearly 20 years, which started as a contribution towards construction of a helipad at the Grand Prairie Hospital in Alberta — a facility that frequently services patients in Northern B.C.
From that contribution, the PRRD signed on to three-year term agreements providing annual grants which go directly towards STARS operations.
STARS representatives are planning on making similar requests to the Regional District of Central Kootenay and Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
The distance and complexity of medical missions vary, which in turn affects the cost of each mission, however, representatives said each call to the East Kootenay runs roughly between $7,500 to 10,000.
STARS officials also noted that the organization does receive some cost-recovery from the B.C. government when responding to B.C. resident patients in the East Kootenay.
Earlier in June, STARS signed a 10-year funding agreement with the Alberta government that provides $15 million a year for annual operations. That makes up roughly 44 per cent of the organization's operating expenses, meaning that 56 per cent still needs to be fundraised.
