Surge of financial aid has HALO service ‘optimistic’ about short-term future

The air ambulance operation in southern Alberta that last week warned it was on the verge of folding is optimistic the recent burst of financial support from its community will keep it aloft through the summer, a short-term win as charities and governments across the country face a cash crunch.

HALO Air Ambulance operates out of Medicine Hat, and is one of three helicopter medical emergency organizations in Alberta. Paul Carolan, HALO’s chief executive officer, last week made a public plea for support and argued the organization may have to ground all flights by July without government funding. In response, companies and residents in southern Alberta rallied, raising tens of thousands of dollars.

The campaign pushed the fight over funding for air ambulances and whether they should be considered an essential service into the spotlight. Alberta does not have a standard funding formula for air ambulances, and HALO has long pushed for government money beyond the fee-for-service it receives.

The government late last year announced a helicopter emergency medical service review and has since told Alberta Health Services (AHS) to fast-track the examination. HALO wants more government cash, arguing that would provide stability. Alberta says STARS Air Ambulance, which receives about 20 per cent of its budget from the government, is contracted to serve the entire province.

Air ambulance organizations in Alberta depend on donations, but charities are suffering after the novel coronavirus pandemic iced the global economy. Since the pandemic started, roughly 69 per cent of registered charities in Canada with revenue of at least $30,000 a year, excluding religious congregations, report declining revenue, according to a survey conducted by Imagine Canada, which works with charities and non-profit organizations. Revenue is down an average of 30.6 per cent, and 73 per cent of charities in the survey said donations have declined.

“COVID-19 decimated our ability to fundraise,” Mr. Carolan said in an interview Tuesday. His warning last week, however, prompted an outpouring of support and he said he is “optimistic” HALO will be able to operate until the end of government’s helicopter ambulance review. HALO’s annual budget is about $3-million a year and Mr. Carolan said government funding of between $1.5-million and $2-million annually would give it stability. HALO launched in 2007.

Drew Barnes, an outspoken United Conservative Party MLA, represents communities HALO serves. The government, he said, needs to step up.

“It is time that southeastern Alberta got treated like the rest of the province with some guaranteed Alberta taxpayer funding,” Mr. Barnes said in an interview. “We’re all Albertans, we’re entitled to the same level of service."

Mr. Barnes added that while STARS can rush to emergencies in his riding of Cypress-Medicine Hat, HALO’s base in Medicine Hat means it can get to locations in southern Alberta faster. He wants the government to shift some of the money it gives STARS to HALO.

“Sometimes government support is necessary, especially for health and education," he said.

STARS’s budget in Alberta is roughly $32-million a year and AHS covers about 20 per cent of that, according to Mike Lamacchia, its chief operating officer. STARS, he said, has had to cancel between 20 and 30 fundraising events in Alberta because of COVID-19 and expects revenue to drop by about 30 per cent. It operates out of Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie.

Steve Buick, a spokesman for Alberta’s Ministry of Health, said the government instructed AHS to speed up the helicopter ambulance review over the summer. He said STARS is contracted to cover all of Alberta. “HALO supplements STARS in southern Alberta, operating during daylight hours,” he said in a statement.

In northern Alberta, another air ambulance outfit, known as HERO, operates out of Fort McMurray. Its budget is roughly $3-million annually, with the municipality, Alberta government and oil and gas companies chipping in about $1-million each.

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