HALO gets one-time $1M grant

By Gillian Slade on January 4, 2019.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade

Long awaited government funding for HALO has been announced.

The local helicopter rescue organization is to receive a one-time government grant of $1 million to help meet its operating budget.

“It’s pretty significant. We’ve been doing this for 12 years. It’s been a long dark tunnel and when you come out and see the sunlight it’s pretty sweet,” said Dale Thacker, chair of HALO’s board of directors.

Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says HALO switching to the BK-117 twin-engine helicopter, after using a single-engine helicopter for many years, makes a big difference in terms of patient safety, crew safety and its ability to provide increased service.

“It was the BK-117 that made a big push for AHS (Alberta Health Services) and us (Alberta Health) to say this is an important investment,” said Hoffman, noting the significance for the community.

We had to provide a service that AHS was willing to support, said Thacker.

The reason for the “one-time” grant rather than ongoing funding was probably due to the upcoming provincial election this spring, said Thacker.

“It also allows them the opportunity to analyze what we’ve done with the money to make sure that we are good value,” said Thacker, who is hopeful the funding will continue in years to come.

“This funding does align with what this year’s funding is for STARS and HALO,” said Hoffman.

AHS will be conducting a review of all of the Emergency Medical Services and helicopter medivac services, and this will help to determine funding in the future, said Hoffman.

HALO’s budget, for which it depends on donations, was $850,000 annually to operate a single-engine helicopter. It increased to $2.6 million with the BK-117 twin engine. HALO is now able to transport patients directly to a Calgary hospital from the scene of an accident if required.

Since first elected the MLA for Medicine Hat, the funding for HALO has been on the agenda of NDP MLA Bob Wanner. He says he is particularly pleased this grant has come through before the end of his term in office.

HALO has already been receiving a fee for service from the government for the flights it is asked to carry out but it was important to establish base funding as well and that is what he has been advocating for, said Wanner.

“As far as I am concerned this is one of the issues I wanted to achieve in my term of service. I’m pleased that AHS and the minister saw the need for this in our part of the province,” said Wanner.

Drew Barnes, UCP MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat is delighted about the grant. He says it will help to address the inequity that southeastern Albertans have had regarding the helicopter rescue service.

“Going forward we need to be treated on the same per capita, safety basis, as people covered by STARS,” said Barnes.

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