STARS air ambulance founder Greg Powell dies at 77

CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 10:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

STARS aerial ambulance announced connected Thursday nighttime that its laminitis and erstwhile CEO, Greg Powell, died earlier this week.

Powell, 77, died connected Wednesday astatine Foothills Hospice successful Okotoks, with his household by his side. 

Current Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) president and CEO John Froh said successful a merchandise that Powell recognized excessively galore patients were dying due to the fact that they couldn't person the attraction they needed rapidly enough, and was motivated to improve the transportation model.

"Countless radical are live contiguous due to the fact that of his ground-breaking imaginativeness and enduring tenacity and for that we are honoured to transportation connected his mission," Froh said.

Powell grew up successful Edmonton and studied medicine astatine the University of British Columbia, according to a illustration of his vocation published for his induction into the Alberta Order of Excellence successful 2021. 

During his 2nd twelvemonth of studies, helium utilized a aesculapian elective to articulation the Flying Doctor Service successful Darwin, Australia. 

While connected the mode to Australia, helium visited a mobile service surgical infirmary (MASH) portion successful Saigon during the Vietnam War, wherever helium watched chopper rescues successful action.

Watching warfare casualties past traumatic injuries acknowledgment to the accelerated intervention inspired him to make a chopper exigency aesculapian work person to home, the illustration says.

After graduating from UBC, Powell attended Canada's then-only exigency medicine grooming programme astatine McGill University and worked arsenic the manager of exigency medicine astatine Calgary's Foothill hospital.

Powell co-founded STARS successful 1985. The foundation survived early fiscal struggles and expanded beyond Calgary successful 1991, opening an Edmonton base.

The exigency aesculapian work is celebrating its 40th twelvemonth of cognition this year. It has flown much than 60,000 missions crossed Western Canada, from bases crossed the prairies successful Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

For his enactment launching STARS, Powell was appointed to the Order of Canada successful 2006. Powell besides received the Alberta Centennial Medal successful 2005, and the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal successful 2012.

Powell besides served arsenic seat of exigency aesculapian services for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and arsenic aesculapian manager for internationally protected persons astatine the 2002 G8 Summit successful Kananaskis.

He was aboriginal inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame successful 2018, and the Foothills Medical Centre helipad was named aft him successful 2015.