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Prince William County fire chief announces field ultrasound, whole‑blood transfusions coming to EMS in December
Summary
Fire Chief Tom LaBelle told the Board the county will deploy point‑of‑care ultrasound to improve field diagnostics and begin delivering whole blood on scene to trauma patients beginning in early December, a change officials said will save lives and requires no additional county funding.
Prince William County Fire Chief Tom LaBelle told the Board of County Supervisors on Nov. 18 that two clinical upgrades will arrive in the county’s field EMS system: point‑of‑care ultrasound for prehospital diagnostics and the capability to deliver whole blood on scene for trauma patients.
LaBelle said the ultrasound program will allow crews to assess suspected congestive heart failure, collapsed lungs and to check whether a patient’s heart has stopped — tools that can change triage and transport decisions. "We'll be introducing ultrasound out into the field," LaBelle said.
He also announced that whole‑blood transfusions will be available in the field "around the 1st week in December," enabling immediate blood replacement for traumatic hemorrhage prior to arrival at hospital. LaBelle said the programs were implemented without asking the board for additional funds and credited the county’s recently appointed medical director for helping secure the clinical authority and protocols.
County leaders praised the clinical improvements as lifesaving and encouraged community blood donations to support the program. The board also recognized recent interagency emergency response to a large gas‑leak evacuation that required sheltering dozens of residents as evidence of county readiness for mass evacuations.
