Putnam County EMS reporting success with its new field blood program following three successful administrations during its first month of operation.
EMS Chief Tommy Copeland said the department launched the initiative following recommendations from federal agencies. Copeland said the department is one of 400 sites nationwide currently carrying blood in the field.
“We felt like with this was the right place and the right time to institute this with Putnam County,” Copeland said. “And we had the support of the Putnam County Commission and the Mayor, Randy Porter, to kind of help us with the funding that we needed to make this a reality. And I really see this as something that can definitely positively impact the residents and the visitors to Putnam County.”
Copeland said the department currently carries O-positive or O-negative packed red blood cells, the universal donor types for emergency situations. Copeland said these components allow paramedics to do more than just expand blood volume with saline, as the blood products carry oxygen and nutrients while helping to stop internal bleeding.
“As far as the practical part getting it out where the captains deploy it where they actually have to, you know, do daily checks on it, we’ve got a computer system that also monitors it and all that,” Copeland said. “Things have went very well.”
Copeland said some 40 percent of crash victims nationwide are still alive when EMS arrives on scene. Copeland said many speculate over a quarter of those patients could be saved by early blood transfusions.
Copeland said the program’s first three uses involved one trauma patient from a vehicle accident and two medical patients experiencing acute blood loss. Copeland said the department uses a computer system to monitor the blood supply while shift captains manage the daily physical checks and deployment.
“The tracking of it is kind of a daunting task, trying to get all the policies and procedures and equipment—all that is kind of a daunting task,” Copeland said. “Blood Assurance have been good to work with us, help us out. We’ve been able to get some information from other places that carry blood to kind of help speed the process along.”
Copeland said the implementation included a procedural change where the on-duty shift captain is taken off the road to respond specifically to calls where blood is needed. Copeland said this allows experienced supervisors to mentor newer paramedics during high-acuity calls while transporting the blood supply directly to the scene.
“They also bring additional resources with them, you know, that if they need in addition to the blood, there’s certain drugs, certain other modalities that they carry,” Copeland said.
Copeland said that while the program is operational, the scarcity of blood remains a concern and requires community participation to maintain the supply.
“Right now only about 3 to 5 percent of the population that’s allowed to donate blood does donate blood,” Copeland said. “So if we could improve those numbers, if we got to 10 percent of the people that could donate, we would have a tremendous amount of blood.”
Copeland said the program received essential funding and support from the Putnam County Commission and Mayor Randy Porter.
