Wise County EMS to implement ‘blood on board’

The Messenger
By Brendan Marchand 
January 10, 2024

After several years of working through logistical and supply chain kinks, Wise County EMS will soon be able to store blood on ground vehicles that have life saving potential thanks to a partnership with Carter BloodCare.

When training and implementation phases are complete, blood refrigerators will be in the back compartment of each rescue truck. The “blood on board” will help combat potentially fatal bleed out events with the ability to transfuse blood in the emergency vehicles.

Wise County EMS Administrator Randall Preuninger said that while the agency does use medication to help trauma patients, blood transfusions are “game-changers” in the pre-hospital world.

“One of the No. 1 causes of death in trauma patients is bleeding that’s uncontrolled,” added deputy chief Brandon Sutter. “We have a really high priority and focus on stopping the bleeding through tourniquets or compression or medication, but this is the other big key piece in that equation. Being able to replace that blood with these units for people that meet the criteria will obviously improve our care tremendously.”

Sutter added that currently, it takes about 45 minutes to one hour for Wise County EMS to get a patient to a trauma center, by ground or air, and start giving them blood or surgical corrections. For agencies such as AirEvac or PHI, it has been easier to have blood units in an air ambulance because of their usual proximity to hospitals. But for Wise County EMS, the only previous possibility of having blood on board would be to first drive to a hospital, pick up the blood units, then drive to the emergency scene.

Preuninger said that outside of the air medical industry, it is unique for a pre-hospital setting to be able to perform blood transfusions. Added with Wise County EMS’ rural service area, the agency is on the forefront of advanced emergency medical services.

“We are very close to having this,” Sutter said. “We’re looking at one month to six weeks having blood units available in the field and on the trucks.”

“One thing that people don’t think about is the financial side. Equipment alone is in the ballpark of $30-$35,000” Preuninger added. “But we met with [Wise County] Judge [J.D.] Clark, and he was on board and able to facilitate that, so we certainly appreciate his help.”

With the partnership with Carter BloodCare, the blood bank requires local blood donations to make sure there isn’t a supply chain shortage. Preuninger said that Carter will create a QR code for Wise County EMS, so each time a county resident goes to donate blood at any location, it can be scanned to help track Wise County’s quantity of donations and support the EMS blood on board program.

“The community plays a big part in this, and I have no doubt they will come through to donate and help support this,” Preuninger said. “Their involvement directly helps support us, and we have full faith that they’ll be helping us out.”