Scott County EMS paramedics now have the capability to administer whole blood to patients before they reach the hospital, WDRB reports.
Before this program, patients in need of blood transfusions would have to wait until they arrived at a hospital or a medical helicopter reached them. The closest Level 1 trauma center is in Louisville, often requiring a 45- to 60-minute journey.
Indiana EMS Medical Director Dr. Eric Yazel noted that Scott County is only the fifth EMS agency in the state to implement this program. One of the barriers to wider adoption is the availability of blood donations, underscoring the need to expand donor pools to support such initiatives.
“This can be the absolute difference between life or death,” said Scott County EMS Chief Nick Ooley, highlighting the potential impact of the new tools now available to paramedics.
Before this program, patients in need of blood transfusions would have to wait until they arrived at a hospital or a medical helicopter reached them. The closest Level 1 trauma center is across the river in Louisville, often requiring a 45- to 60-minute journey.
Scott County EMS has been working toward this goal since last year. Under the program, they will receive a new blood supply every 21 days, with replacements available within hours if the supply is used.