STARS air ambulance adds new helicopter to fleet
The STARS air ambulance has announced another helicopter that’s been added to their fleet. It’s the fifth of 10 medically equipped aircraft that will compose a new, upgraded fleet.
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The STARS air ambulance service has unveiled its second Saskatchewan helicopter(Matt Duguid/CBC)
The air ambulance service that flies over Saskatchewan has added a new helicopter to its fleet, with a nod to Rod Gantefoer, the former Saskatchewan politician who was key in establishing the service in the province.
STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) Air Ambulance officially unveiled the new Airbus H145 helicopter in Regina on Tuesday, though it actually entered service in the province weeks ago and had actually been unveiled to the public a day earlier in Melfort, Gantefoer s hometown.
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Melfort, SK, Canada / CJVR Today s Best Country
Jun 28, 2021 | 5:49 PM
STARS air ambulance welcomed its latest Airbus H145 helicopter named after Melfort resident Rod Gantefoer to the Melfort Hospital Monday.
The aircraft’s registration marks are “C-GFRG,” and the last three letters stand for “Founder Rod Gantefoer.”
“It’s unexpected and an honour,” Gantefoer said.
Gantefoer was instrumental in the development and implementation of STARS in Saskatchewan.
“He got us going,” STARS president and CEO Andrea Robertson said. “We’re forever grateful. We’ve had incredible support here in Saskatchewan.”
Gantefoer also led the fundraising initiative for the Melfort Heliport project.
From left, North Central Health Care Foundation chair Peggy George, Redhead Equipment ag sales manager Scott Vanderlinde and Municipal Health Advocacy Fundraising Committee chair Rod Gantefoer unveil the donor wall that recognizes the contributors to the heliport at the Melfort Hospital. Photo by Devan C. Tasa
The provincial director of operation for STARS Saskatchewan Cindy Seidl said that the heliport will ensure that patients can be transferred to Saskatoon much faster than before. From left are Seidl and Rod Gantefoer, the chair of the Municipal Health Advocacy Fundraising Committee. Photo by Devan C. Tasa MELFORT For their contributions to making a new heliport at the Melfort Hospital a reality, donors had their names enshrined on a wall inside the Wellness Centre.