Donor-powered program is a ‘game changer’ for trauma patients
Trauma is the number-one cause of death for people under age 45. Experts estimate that up to 40 percent of these deaths are preventable when rapid blood transfusions are administered in the field.
Thanks in part to generous MultiCare Health Foundation donors, Pierce County paramedics can immediately perform whole blood transfusions armed with the necessary equipment, latest training and ongoing support required to sustain the program.
The Tacoma Fire Department and Central Pierce Fire & Rescue are now the first in the region to offer this vital intervention for trauma patients experiencing severe blood loss. The whole blood program aims to improve survival rates by closing the gap between the time of a traumatic injury and when a patient receives definitive hospital care.
By immediately replacing lost blood with universally compatible whole blood product — which contains red blood cells, plasma and platelets — at the scene or during transport, paramedics can stabilize critically injured individuals and give them a better chance of survival.
Early results of whole blood program
Benjamin Constance, MD, emergency physician and chief of staff at MultiCare Tacoma General and MultiCare Allenmore hospitals, is already seeing the impact.
“We have already administered blood to patients from penetrating trauma — gunshot wounds and stabbings — motor vehicle collisions, severe gastrointestinal bleeding and bleeding related to gynecological conditions,” he explains. “Paramedics have noticed that patients ‘immediately look better’ in the paramedic rig, sharing that vital signs improve, color is coming back into faces and they are more alert on arrival.”
Tacoma Fire Chief Sionna Stallings-Ala’ilima is equally heartened by the program’s early successes.
“I am very encouraged by the early results of the whole blood program,” she says. “It’s allowing our crews to begin lifesaving care in the field and increasing the odds of survivability.”
Stronger and healthier together
Community partnerships are at the core of the whole blood program. Central Pierce Fire & Rescue and the Tacoma Fire Department collaborated with Bloodworks Northwest, which supplies the blood product, in addition to MultiCare and other local emergency departments.
Philanthropic support of this groundbreaking initiative further demonstrates the community’s commitment to enhancing emergency medical services and improving patient outcomes.
“Thanks to the support of MultiCare Health Foundation, critically ill patients can have basic labs completed, whole blood transfusion and point-of-care ultrasound assessing for life-threatening injuries prior to their arrival,” Dr. Constance shares. “It’s a game changer.”
