City council unanimously offered their support for a local initiative to establish an emergency helicopter emergency medical service for the region.
Staff and board members from the Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operations Society (HEROS) presented the non-profit's plan to have medical professionals fly to the scene of a car accident or workplace injury to treat and transfer patients from outlying communities to the hospital.
The group was looking for the city politicians to endorse their idea which they will be taking to other communities to lobby for support.
HEROS. said they want to see the air ambulance service lift off by next year.
"I've had enough of the excuses," said Brent Marshall, HEROS. board president, of barriers the group has encountered on the provincial level.
Ideally, the bulk of the funding for the program would come from a private-public partnership between major industry and the province, explained executive director Roberta Squire.
"It would take $6 to $7 million [in capital funding] to have the service here tomorrow," she said. The annual operating costs would be in the $4 million range.
