1. Why is RedSTAR needed?

RedSTAR fills a gap that exists between the Red River Gorge’s local volunteer Search and Rescue (SAR)  teams and the local Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies. Because the SAR teams aren’t EMS agencies, they’re legally prohibited from providing care beyond the level of first aid. And because the EMS agencies aren’t SAR teams, they’ve historically declined to allow their employees to hike miles through the woods or to rappel over cliffs to treat patients.

RedSTAR’s response services did both of those things. As an EMS unit trained and equipped for SAR operations and rope rescue, we were able to enter the woods and go over the edge of cliffs to begin treating patients exactly where they’ve become injured or ill. And because we operated as a unit of Powell County Ambulance Service under Physician medical direction, we could do so much more than basic first aid.

These capabilities included IV medications, emergency airway procedures, advanced trauma care, use of sophisticated diagnostics to identify specific illnesses and injuries, and an extensive range of prescription medications. Our advanced treatments included protocols for Ketamine, TXA, dislocation reductions, chest decompressions, and surgical procedures.

2. Is RedSTAR a Search and Rescue team?

No. In Kentucky, Search and Rescue (SAR) teams are regulated by the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management and are chartered to perform specific types of non-firefighting and non-EMS services as their primary missions, such as vehicle extrication, ground searching, and rope rescue. Fire and EMS agencies might provide those services as secondary missions, which is how RedSTAR is structured: we were previously an EMS unit, regulated by the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services, whose primary mission is to provide advanced, high quality medical care in the wilderness. We maintain proficiency in SAR and rope rescue so that we can work safely in those settings.

3. What is the legal basis for RedSTAR?

RedSTAR was the special operations unit of the Powell County, KY Ambulance Service. We were authorized to operate by a vote of the Powell County Fiscal Court on August 18th, 2017, after a two-year development process. As of March 2025, we are a KBEMS Training and Educational Institution (TEI-401) authorized to deliver EMS continuing education courses.

4. What’s the difference between First Aid and Advanced Life Support?

First Aid is a collection of basic skills designed to correct immediately life threatening conditions, like applying direct pressure to control bleeding and using simple manual maneuvers to open a patient’s airway. It’s an important set of skills, but it’s very limited. Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a range of complex skills and therapies delivered under Physician oversight by Paramedics and Nurses, assisted by EMTs. ALS providers can start IV’s, intubate, attempt to re-inflate collapsed lungs, interpret data from advanced diagnostic tools to determine the precise nature of a patient’s problem, perform minor surgical procedures, and administer a wide range of medications to treat pain, allergies, shock, difficulty breathing, metabolic emergencies, thermal emergencies, cardiac conditions….and more!

RedSTAR was built as an ALS team; we brought Physician-level care to the patient, wherever they are in the Red River Gorge.

5. How is RedSTAR funded?

As an operational unit, RedSTAR was supported at a basic level by the Powell County Fiscal Court through in-kind donations of building space, use of vehicles, provision of insurance, and administrative support . Beyond that, RedSTAR paid our own way through applications for grants, donations made to RedSTAR, Inc. to sustain our high-quality lifesaving operations, and revenue that we generated by offering training courses.