Indianapolis EMS’s blood medic program continues to change outcomes for some of the city’s most critically injured patients. In a recent CBS4 Indy report, IEMS said the program, which it describes as the first 911 ground ambulance blood program in Indiana, has helped around 60 people since prehospital blood was added to the 911 dispatch system last year. Medics believe a number of those patients would likely not have survived without it.
Paramedics on the IEMS special operations team respond to calls ranging from shootings and stabbings to vehicle entrapments and obstetric emergencies, giving transfusions on scene or in the back of an ambulance. They’re dispatched directly or place themselves on scene when severe trauma comes over the radio. In the week the story was filmed alone, they responded to four such calls. District Lieutenant Anthony Garcia explained that medics look for patients with low blood pressure, signs of shock or major bleeding, and that crews now routinely go from arriving on scene to blood flowing in about five to six minutes.
That speed matters. IEMS Medical Director Dr. Mark Liao calls the first ten minutes after a gunshot wound the “platinum 10 minutes,” and says the program is clearly working. Other Indiana agencies, including Muncie, Carmel and Morgan County, are now looking to Indianapolis as a model, and Dr. Liao is encouraging rural communities, where trauma centers can be far away, to explore prehospital blood as well.
As with every field blood program, it depends on donors. Dr. Liao stressed the ongoing need for blood donations to keep units available for the next patient.
At Delta Development Team, we’re proud to support Indianapolis EMS, whose blood medics carry blood in the Delta ICE 2L Smart Blood Cooler, with BloodCOMM® monitoring temperature and tracking every unit to the patient. Congratulations to the IEMS team on reaching so many patients, and on helping lead the way for EMS across Indiana.
