Lifesaving Blood on Board

From left to right: Conner Smith, Pilot, Joe Bond, RN, and Pete Davis, Flight Nurse, say having lifesaving blood available on board Enloe Health’s FlightCare helicopter is a significant step in enhancing emergency care.

Following a major car crash that left a patient in hemorrhagic shock, a life-threatening condition caused by severe blood loss, a swift medical response proved to be the difference between life and death.

Butte County EMS and FlightCare, Enloe Health’s hospital-owned-and-operated air ambulance service, responded. The emergency was significant because it was the first time crew members were able to administer blood that is now carried on board the aircraft.

“We were able to resuscitate the patient,” said Flight Nurse Pete Davis. “Typically, they would have to wait until they got to the hospital to receive blood, but we were able to resuscitate them and stabilize them with the blood we have on board.”

FlightCare has transported more than 25,000 patients since 1985, saving many lives in the North State. Having lifesaving blood available on board the helicopter is a significant step in enhancing emergency care. Rapid blood transfusions increase the likelihood of survival for patients.

“Every second counts in an emergency, and having blood available on board allows us to begin lifesaving interventions sooner,” said Jenny Humphries, Enloe Health Director of Emergency Medical Services and Chief Flight Nurse. “This addition strengthens our ability to provide the most advanced pre-hospital care possible, especially in remote or time-sensitive situations.”

This enhancement not only allows crew members to initiate blood transfusions while in the air, but it also means they can provide blood to critically ill or injured patients at the scene of an emergency or at rural hospitals.

“For years, nobody carried blood in the field, and small, rural facilities don’t always have blood easily available, which many people may be surprised to know. So we’re not only responding to 911 calls,” Davis said. “We also go to these rural hospitals that don’t have a lot of capability, and we have that blood right there available to help in that initial patient resuscitation.”

If it’s faster for a patient to be transported by a ground ambulance to the nearest hospital during an emergency, FlightCare may still respond to provide immediate blood transfusions, Davis added.

“If we can jump in that ambulance and a patient is in shock, we can start giving them blood and other critical care treatment that they need, which is beneficial for a patient’s outcome,” he said. “Sometimes we can be close to the hospital, and we can jump in an ambulance and we can provide that critical level of care, even if it’s a short transport of 15 minutes to the hospital.”

FlightCare started carrying blood while in service on March 17. The process for getting blood on board involved many key stakeholders, including Humphries and emergency medicine physician and Prehospital Medical Director Christina Umber, M.D. It also required collaboration with various Enloe Health committees.

The process included equipping the aircraft with proper blood warmers and having a relationship with a local blood bank to provide the supply. Davis said FlightCare currently carries two units of packed cell volume red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body.

Davis said there are plans to carry whole blood cells in the future, which in addition to red blood cells, contain platelets and clotting factors that help reduce bleeding. The blood is stored within a cooling system. Then it’s warmed during a transfusion to prevent hypothermia, coagulopathy and clotting in patients.

“For years the standard in care and trauma was to give large amounts of saline to resuscitate patients when they were in hemorrhagic shock. Giving blood is the best standard of care that you can get for hemorrhagic shock, and so we want to provide that,” Davis said. “We want to give the best possible care to our community.”