Following Wednesday’s announcement of the Blood in Flight Initiative at Newman Regional Health, further details were discussed by members of LifeSave Transport on KVOE’s Morning Show on Thursday.
The initiative is statewide and reflects LifeSave’s status as the only medical air transport company in Kansas with Red Cross approval to carry blood from the hospital directly to a critical incident site like a crash. Leann Briggs, a critical care flight nurse, preceptor for new flight clinicians and the base outreach coordinator for the Emporia location, says all involved had to go through some rigorous behind-the-scenes work to make sure this was viable.
Critical care paramedic and clinical base lead Jared LaForce says there is a “rigorous” process and paper trail for vetting by the Red Cross if needed. He adds said the blood is monitored from when it’s loaded to when it’s used or brought back to the hospital.
Briggs says uncontrolled bleeding is the top cause of preventable death in trauma incidents with around 60,000 Americans passing away due to blood loss, so a step like this is vitally important in patient care. She also urged residents to donate blood so there is ample supply in case of emergencies.
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.
