The STARS air ambulance helicopter touched down in Humboldt for a second time on Saturday afternoon.
According to spokesperson Kelly Brossart of STARS, the air ambulance's helicopter was dispatched out of their Saskatoon base at 1:50 p.m. on November 24, and within nine minutes, the helicopter was in the air and heading to Humboldt.
The ambulance was responding to a patient with a medical emergency at Humboldt District Hospital.
The helicopter landed at the temporary landing pad northwest of the Humboldt District Hospital at approximately 2:30 p.m., received the single patient, and took off again just before 3 p.m., heading back to Saskatoon.
"It was a very successful mission in terms of how things went," said Brossart.
The Humboldt Fire Department was called to control traffic around the landing pad at 1:55 p.m., reported Fire Chief Norbert LeBlanc, who was at the scene with four other firefighters.
The HFD did a great job securing the landing zone area, Brossart said.
While the air medical crew was inside the Humboldt District Hospital receiving the patient, the pilots of the helicopter allowed a number of interested onlookers in the area, including members of the Humboldt Fire Department, to come closer and have a look at the helicopter's interior, Brossart added.
Once the patient was ready to leave, the area was cleared and the helicopter took off.
This was the second visit STARS paid to Humboldt in the past two weeks. The air ambulance made its first stop in Humboldt the evening of November 15.
In just over five weeks of operation, the Saskatoon base of STARS has helped over 12 patients, Brossart noted.
"We are just so excited to be providing service now," she said.
STARS is now available to respond to vehicle collisions, workplace injuries and medical emergencies in communities around the area, "providing that amazing medical care" that helps patients get positive outcomes, Brossart said.
STARS has now been integrated into the 9-1-1 emergency system, so they will be dispatched when the criteria for doing so is met.
"The system is working as it should," said Brossart.
