Oglethorpe County EMS is one step closer to carrying and administering whole blood in the field after paramedics and EMTs completed a required training course on Tuesday.
The Post Licensure Skills Class for prehospital blood administration was held at the Crawford Volunteer Fire Department and marked one of the final steps before the county's whole blood program can become operational.
About 20 EMTs and paramedics participated in the training, which is required before they can administer blood to trauma patients in the field.
“Really, once we have our training shored up, it’s really a matter of acquisition of the supplies that we need in terms of coolers and pumps and all the specialized equipment we need to actually administer blood,” said Dr. Brendan Hawthorn, EMS medical director.
The coolers are expected to arrive soon. Because the blood must remain at certain temperatures, the coolers must be ready before the blood can arrive.
There are small changes to protocol to adjust as well.
Once the equipment is ready, Oglethorpe County EMS plans to receive its blood supply through the Shepeard Community Blood Center.
Madison County, Oglethorpe County and Elbert County are sharing a refrigerator to store additional units of product. This will allow blood products to be exchanged easier and faster.
Hawthorn said the three counties have extensive rural areas to cover, so this process should help.
“There is a lot of what's called mutual aid where we help each other out across county lines,” Hawthorn said.
EMS director Josh Robinson said they hope to have the program operational by August and have received a trauma equipment grant from the Georgia Trauma Commission.
“As far as I know, we’re gonna be the first ambulance service in this region to carry a point of care hemoglobin tester,” Robinson said. “So that’s gonna be really beneficial for these patients.”
The HemoCue device allows EMS to test a patient’s hemoglobin levels in the field.
“We’re doing everything that we can for now, but we know we can do more, and that’s just kind of our goal is to be able to do everything that we can for the patients that we see,” Robinson said.
Robinson is excited to have this program in place after a year-long process. There are plans to conduct blood drives in the community with the partnership of Shepeard Community Blood Center.
“This is where our community can help us and help the community themselves and give back by coming to these blood drives and give blood that could potentially come back and save their life or their neighbors,” Robinson said.