WHAT WE DO
OUR VISION
All Californians experience emergency and prehospital care that is equitable, unified and compassionate.
The lives of people touched by trauma or injury dramatically improve because they receive the appropriate care, services and support they need to heal and prevent re-injury.
OUR MISSION
To improve health outcomes for all Californians, we use a racial equity lens to fund and advocate for improvements in emergency and prehospital care.
WHAT WE ARE WORKING TO ACHIEVE
We are reimagining emergency and prehospital care that is equitable, unified, compassionate, with a focus on elevating community voice and power, building a movement, and catalyzing systems change, with racial equity at the center of our work. Through our efforts, and in partnership with community-based organizations, state and local agencies, and other key stakeholders, we aim to achieve the following:
Individual Californians
trust emergency and prehospital care organizations, confidently engaging with them without fear, and receiving appropriate care and services tailored to their needs.
The System
of emergency and prehospital care in California prioritizes community involvement, working with both communities and other healthcare providers to meet local health and safety needs.
Communities
have the voice, power, and influence to transform emergency and pre-hospital care to work for them.
Local and State Policies
codify and incentivize innovation and community-centered care to improve equity in the emergency and prehospital care system.
OUR HISTORY
The CARESTAR Foundation was founded in 2017 as a result of the sale of CALSTAR (California Shock Trauma Air Rescue), an air ambulance company founded by a consortium of hospitals.
​
CALSTAR fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft helped critically ill patients reach Northern California’s emerging network of trauma centers and other tertiary hospitals within the “Golden Hour” window saving lives and reducing disability and death and achieving optimum outcomes.
​
As the air ambulance industry evolved, CALSTAR made a strategic decision to sell its aviation business to a purchaser who would continue those services, and distribute the proceeds to a new organization dedicated to continuing its original charitable and educational purposes.
The CARESTAR Foundation honors CALSTAR’S legacy and lifesaving work in the field of emergency and trauma transport and care, while centering racial equity in both our grantmaking and our operations.