While EMS providers have typically administered fluids intravenously to patients, the use of blood is becoming more prevalent as experts believe the practice will help to save more lives. Patients experiencing significant blood loss from trauma will have a better chance of survival if they can get blood more quickly but often will only receive the transfusion once they arrive at the hospital.
“Hospitals over the past decade have been shifting to giving patients blood sooner during the care process,” said Mutual Aid’s Medical Director Dr. Bill Jenkins. “The quicker you can get blood into a patient, the more beneficial that patient’s outcome will be.”
Before implementing the new process, Mutual Aid paramedics completed intense training on what to look for in patients experiencing hemorrhagic shock and how to use the new blood administration equipment properly. The blood will remain refrigerated on the ambulances for 35 days, after which any unused will be returned to the hospital for a new supply. Red blood cells in donated blood can be stored for up to 42 days before the blood can no longer be used.
Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, PA, will provide blood, and Mutual Aid will share the resource with neighboring EMS agencies, benefitting even more patients. Thus far, Mutual Aid paramedics have needed to administer blood to four patients, all of whom experienced positive outcomes.
About Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, Inc.
Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, Inc. provides emergency medical care services to 180,000 residents in 33 municipalities covering a 924-square-mile area. It is the largest ambulance provider in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. In addition to providing ambulance service in urban and rural areas, Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, Inc., runs a nationally-recognized Emergency Medicine Education Institute which provides EMT and paramedic certification programs as well as CPR, AED, and first aid bystander and rescuer safety educational programs. For more information regarding Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, including communities served, memberships, and training, visit www.Mutual-Aid.com.
