More than $330,000 was raised Friday by the eight participants of the 4th STARS Air Ambulance Rescue on the Island. The annual fundraiser saw eight Manitoba business get "stranded" on an island and compete to reach their

The STARS Air Ambulance landed on a rocky outcropping on Carter Island located in Eleanor Lake near Otter Falls fundraising goals in order to earn a flight back to civilization. Carter Island on Lake Eleanor near Otter Falls was this year's "mystery" location. Since the event's inception in 2013 it has raised over $1.08 million for STARS which is a non-profit organization.

Troy Pauls grew up in Steinbach and is a flight paramedic with STARS. He explains how he got involved in this particular medical field.

"First I was a Medic in the Military and then I was hired by the City of Winnipeg as an Advanced Care Paramedic and I spent over seventeen years on the streets there. When STARS came to Manitoba they asked if I would go through the selection process in 2011, which I did, and I've been part of STARS for five years."

He says the job certainly has some unique aspects.

"Flight physiology, vibration, the noise, confined space. The level of care and the amount of expertise that goes on in the back of the helicopter; the space, the altitude - it all plays a role."

Since it arrived in Manitoba five years ago, STARS has become an integral part of healthcare delivery in the province.

"It isn't always necessarily about the care in the back of the helicopter," explains Pauls, "Sometimes for rural Manitoba it's just the fact the helicopter is so fast."

He says this rapid response can make a big difference in patient outcomes.