The EMS One-Stop Blood on Board series moves to the federal level in Episode 3, exploring how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program is opening new funding pathways for prehospital blood programs.
Host Rob Lawrence is joined by three leaders directly involved in building regional blood capability through federal funding.
- Julie Stilley, PhD, is an EMS researcher at the University of Missouri, whose team secured a $4.6 million SS4A demonstration grant focused on advanced post-crash care, including prehospital blood administration.
- Jason White represents the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City, a multi-jurisdictional regional planning organization coordinating EMS, trauma systems, hospitals and transportation partners around a regional whole blood strategy.
- Mark Heath is chief of EMS for the Kansas City Kansas Fire Department and one of the operational leaders preparing to launch whole blood in the field as part of the Kansas City regional effort.
Rather than focusing solely on clinical practice, this episode examines the realities of applying for, winning and administering federal grant funding. The guests discuss building regional coalitions, engaging blood banks, developing standardized protocols, navigating compliance requirements and preparing operational rollouts.
From Missouri’s $4.6 million demonstration grant, to Kansas City’s regional planning initiative, this episode provides a practical roadmap for EMS leaders looking to transform roadway safety funding into lifesaving trauma care capability.
Blood on Board episodes
Impactful quotes
“Don’t be afraid of applying for a big, scary federal grant.” — Mark Heath
“EMS is the perfect partner to try to understand how to address the post-crash care component of a safety action plan.” — Julie Stilley
“If you’re going to do it as a region, you’ve got to hang together.” — Jason White
“The data points on the backside will set you free.” — Mark Heath
“If my blood is closer to the next address over, just because there’s a river in the way doesn’t mean we can’t get across the bridge.” — Mark Heath
“What started initially as an absolute ‘no’ became, ‘Wait, let me listen to you some more.’” — Julie Stilley
“The juice is worth the squeeze.” — Rob Lawrence
“Firefighters and EMS are cowboys, and blood banks are accountants.” — Mark Heath
“Cowboys do marry accountants.” — Jason White
“Run, don’t walk, to your local blood bank.” — Mark Heath
“It’s your blood in your community and going into you on your ambulances.” — Mark Heath
“We’re moving toward reducing mortality and reducing long-term injury.” — Julie Stilley
Additional resources
- Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program | US Department of Transportation
- NHTSA’s Office of Emergency Medical Services | EMS.gov
- Accessing the Safe Streets and Roads for All EMS grant program
- Researchers receive $4.6 million to pilot advanced EMS response program
Episode timeline
00:00 – “Free money is free money”. Chief Mark Heath opens with encouragement for agencies considering federal grant applications and urges smaller communities not to be intimidated by the process.
00:44 – Introduction to Episode 3. Rob Lawrence recaps Episodes 1 and 2 of the Blood on Board series before introducing the SS4A grant focus and the featured guests.
02:07 – Meet the guests. Julie Stilley introduces her role at the University of Missouri and reveals her project’s $4.6 million award. Jason White and Mark Heath outline the Kansas City regional collaboration.
04:19 – Why apply for SS4A? Julie Stilley explains how frustration around operational barriers to blood implementation motivated her grant application.
05:38 – Understanding demonstration grants. Discussion on the difference between planning and demonstration grants, and how post-crash care fits into regional traffic safety action plans.
06:51 – Building regional coalitions. Jason White discusses Kansas City’s existing regional EMS partnerships and how those relationships became the foundation for the grant application.
10:30 – Regional protocols and data. Mark Heath explains how Kansas City agencies standardized protocols, agreed on shared data points and committed to a coordinated regional approach.
13:04 – Pulling together the application. Julie Stilley outlines the process of bringing together planners, EMS leaders, trauma centers and blood banks to support the grant proposal.
15:02 – Equipment, compliance and logistics. Discussion shifts to blood warmers, storage systems, chain-of-custody monitoring and the operational realities of safely carrying blood products in the field.
18:25 – Planning grants and future implementation. Jason White explains how the Kansas City effort uses a planning grant to build toward larger implementation funding opportunities.
23:22 – Busting myths about blood. Mark Heath describes how data and national experience changed his thinking about whether whole blood matters in urban EMS systems with short transport times.
27:19 – The reality of grant administration. Julie Stilley and Jason White explain federal reimbursement structures, compliance requirements and why strong administrative partners are essential.
31:37 – Sustainability and reimbursement. Discussion on long-term funding, legislative advocacy and the need for reimbursement models for prehospital blood administration.
33:43 – Final lessons learned. The guests share advice on partnerships, blood bank relationships, data collection and not being afraid of “big scary federal grants.”
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