HALO in jeopardy

By Sean Rooney on May 14, 2020.

HALO air ambulance service has just informed regional officials that if it does not receive an immediate investment from the Alberta government it going to be forced to significantly scale back its operations as of June 1.
In a letter to Forty Mile County Reeve Steve Wikkerink Thursday morning, CEO Paul Carolan said an emergency meeting had been held May 6 to discuss the crisis, and on May 8 HALO contacted Premier Jason Kenney’s office to make its dire situation clear.
“Other programs have benefitted from years of Government of Alberta support, allowing them to build financial reserves that can be drawn upon during these extraordinary times. HALO has no such reserves,” the letter to Wikkerink reads. 
It stated four “facts” the ambulance service faces:
1. Scale back operations to a single-engine helicopter effective June 1.
2. Provide limited medevac operations with the single-engine helicopter for a period of 30 days.
3. All medevac operations to cease July 1.
HALO will immediately begin a public relations campaign in the hopes of save the program, Carolan says, hoping to highlight the “incredible success of the program,” and “the dedicated people that have volunteered tirelessly to keep it in service.”
The News will have more information as the story unfolds.

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