HALO Air Ambulance is set to receive funding from the City of Medicine Hat for the first time in 2023. (Photo: CHAT News Today)

By Brendan Miller

Medicine Hat funding HALO Air Ambulance for the first time

Jul 18, 2023 | 4:54 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – City council in Medicine Hat approved $1 million of funding to support HALO Air Ambulance for two years. The funding will be split with $500,000 for the remainder of 2023 and $500,000 for 2024.

Despite the air ambulance operating out of the Medicine Hat Regional Airport for over 16 years, the funding approval is the first time Medicine Hat has provided financial support to HALO.

The city now joins Bow Island, Cypress County, the Counties of Newell and Forty Mile, as well as several other municipalities in financially supporting helicopter operations.

HALO CEO Paul Carolan said the group currently receives only 29 per cent of its operating budget from Alberta Health Services.

Council will also provide more advocacy on behalf of HALO to the Minister of Health. In March 2023, the municipality sent a letter asking the province to provide consistent and adequate funding.

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Carolan said the city has a loud voice when it comes to accessing provincial funding.

“It’s about having the City of Medicine Hat with a seat at our table, making sure that we are making the right decisions and making great decisions moving forward and then having them in a position where they can share that with their counterparts in the provincial government,” said Carolan.

Councillor Cassi Hider believes it is important for the city to become HALO’s strategic partner.

“There’s lots of residents within Medicine Hat that might have cottages or cabins down at Elkwater, lots of kids and families ski at Hidden Valley. Up and down north on the 41, there’s people that work all around the area so it’s crucial that we are part of supporting HALO and its services,” said Hider.

The funding approval comes as HALO sees its annual operating budget grow by over half a million dollars to $3.5 million.

This year, HALO said it expects to fly around 200 life saving missions.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now

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