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Caroline County plans prehospital whole blood pilot on EMS supervisor trucks
Summary
County emergency services officials presented a grant-funded plan to carry low-titer O whole blood on supervisor EMS trucks, funded largely by a $20,000 Caroline Foundation grant and county equipment contributions; county staff estimate 12–25 transfusions a year and roughly 1–2 lives saved annually, with training targeted for January and a rollout goal of February.
Caroline County emergency-services leaders told commissioners Dec. 16 they plan to equip EMS supervisor vehicles with prehospital whole blood to improve trauma care and reduce deaths during long transports to regional trauma centers.
Mark Sheridan, director of the Department of Emergency Services, said the program will deploy low-titer O whole blood in supervisor trucks carried and rotated on a 14-day schedule by courier in partnership with the Delmarva Blood Bank. "We're trying to bring that trauma center level care to our ambulances," Sheridan said, calling whole blood "one of the most effective treatments there is" in hemorrhagic shock.
Dr. Bridal, the department's medical director, described whole blood as containing red blood cells, plasma and platelets in one product and said the intervention is low risk and widely used by military and some civilian EMS systems. "It buys people time," Dr. Bridal said, noting whole blood is used for gunshot and stab wounds as well as medical bleeds such as GI or postpartum hemorrhage.
Officials said the Caroline Foundation provided a $20,000 grant toward equipment and that the county contributed roughly $5,000 in equipment to date; an initial equipment budget had been estimated at about $32,000 but was reduced after vendor negotiations. The Delmarva Blood Bank will courier and rotate units; unused whole blood can be returned and processed so red cells and plasma are not wasted. Sheridan said the county expects 12–25 transfusions per year and estimates the program could save "likely 1 or 2 people per year" who otherwise might die en route to a trauma center.
Training and quality assurance are in progress: department-wide instruction on blood physiology has started, with hands-on demonstrations and additional rollout training scheduled in January with partners from Howard County and Delmarva. Temperature monitoring and alarm software will notify supervisors and the blood bank if storage exceeds the required 2–6°C tolerance. Officials said the health department helped secure a freezer at no cost from a state warehouse to avoid a county capital outlay for that equipment.
Sheridan said the county plans a countywide blood drive with Delmarva after launch to support the program. If approved, the department aims to have supervisor trucks carrying one unit each on a shift basis and to begin field operations in February, pending final protocol approvals by the blood bank, the medical director and the state.
The board did not take a formal vote on the program at the Dec. 16 meeting; commissioners thanked staff and asked for follow-up schedules and cost details.
