I recently received my STARS Air Ambulance home lottery and 50/50 tickets in the mail.
While the allure of all the shiny prizes offered by lottery organizers is certainly a factor in my annual purchase of tickets, it’s not the primary reason I support the cause.
I grew up in a remote rural area. In those days the nearest hospital was about an hour away. Today emergency care is more than two hours away by road.
The community where I grew up now has an ambulance, but back in the day even that service wasn’t available. Any kind of accident or critical health incident could be fatal, and often was.
Studies have shown that the more quickly a patient receives treatment, the better their chances of a full recovery. This includes the timely treatment of stroke, heart attacks or brain injuries, which, according to the STARS website, can save more than $1 million per patient.
In addition, STARS claims the economic benefits of helicopter ambulance missions are six times higher than the costs and patients transported by helicopter are more likely to survive than those transported by ground ambulance, even though their injuries are more severe.
Critical care is concentrated in urban centres, but less than half the population of Western Canada lives in a major urban centre. Those in urban cnetres can access care in a matter of minutes, for the other half the time frame is hours.
So, in support of the 50 per cent who live in rural and remote areas, I choose to support the STARS Foundation lottery. The lottery proceeds supplement the government’s support of the program as well as the support of corporate sponsors.
It’s my small contribution to what I consider a vital service in a province such as Saskatchewan with its huge land mass and widely spread population.
The seventh edition of the STARS Lottery Saskatchewan is offering 2,005 prizes valued at more than $4 million. LUCKY STARS 50/50 draw offers a prize of up to $800,000 cash.
The early bird draw deadline is June 27, and the early bird draw is July 12. All final draws will be held Aug. 2, with the ticket sale deadline July 19.
To purchase tickets visit http://starslotterysaskatchewan.ca or call 1-844-STARS-SK.
