By Bill Carey
EMS1
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — The Crawfordsville Fire Department has announced that it is the first department in the Midwest to begin a pilot program to administer whole blood in the field.
The program is a partnership between the fire department, Ascension St. Vincent and Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, WISH reported.
The average transport time from Montgomery County to a trauma hospital in Indianapolis is from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. The whole blood program will increase a patient’s chance of survival during transport.
“Crawfordsville Fire Department paramedics will be delivering a critical care component that until now was only available by helicopters or hospitals in central Indiana,” Captain Bryan Shaw said. “This is just one more way that Crawfordsville Fire will be bringing lifesaving abilities to the patient within minutes of their incident.”