A major medical partnership announced Wednesday will help patients needing critical care across the KVOE listening area.
Newman Regional Health and LifeSave Transport, the hospital’s medical air ambulance service, celebrated what’s being called the Blood in Flight Initiative — meaning LifeSave is currently the only medical transport company in Kansas to get Red Cross approval for delivering blood by air. Emergency room physician Dr. Jamie Foley says this makes life better in urgent care situations where blood is badly needed.
LifeSave nurse Leann Briggs says a lot of work happened behind the scenes so this option could be a reality.
With people needing blood every two seconds, Red Cross spokesperson Susan Faler urged everybody to give blood.
Wednesday’s celebration involved partners at the area, state and federal levels. Susan DeCourcy (duh-KOHR-see) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was among those on hand.
Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent Herman Jones says his agency has had a long history of delivering blood in critical care situations, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kansas Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Assistant Manager Gary Herman emphasized the lifesaving potential of this new venture.
Here’s Butler County EMS Chief Frank Williams:
This new partnership involves all LifeSave aircraft — fixed wing and helicopters. Besides Emporia, LifeSave has bases in Wichita, Garden City and Liberal, with a sister facility in Parsons. Briggs will discuss more about the partnerships on KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment at 8:40 am Thursday.
