You’ve heard other podcasts. You’ve heard other STARS stories of rescue and recovery. But you haven’t heard any like this. Today STARS launches Mission Ready, presented by WBM Technologies. It’s a podcast that takes listeners deep inside our most harrowing and fascinating missions.

We invite you on the journey as we share dispatch recordings, hear from witnesses at the scene, speak with the crews who care for the critically ill and injured and the patients, friends and families who are so grateful for one more day.

“Often, these missions are deep and complex, so we wanted to find a way to really take people inside these emergencies and highlight how we care for critically ill and injured patients,” said Terri Strunk, chief fundraising and brand officer at STARS. “The people who come forward to share their stories do so in such a compelling way, the missions become highly personalized and poignant to the listener.”

Mission Ready features conversations with our crews, including doctors, nurses and paramedics who have helped to save lives every day since our charity launched in 1985.

“STARS delivers life-saving services to the communities in which WBM is so proud to live and work across Western Canada,” said JoeAnne Hardy, president of WBM Technologies. “We are honoured to be a long-term partner and the presenting sponsor for the Mission Ready podcast, allowing STARS to share the stories of what goes into being there when they are needed most.”

In our inaugural season, biologist Marcia Birkigt has been attacked by a massive cougar at a work site and is lying in the dark on a mountaintop, bleeding and in excruciating pain. The menacing cougar paces. Ground ambulance is at least two hours away and Marcia can’t wait that long. Over the six episodes, you won’t want to miss the remarkable connection this patient has to the crew sent to help her and how they and the other people on scene cope in the aftermath.