MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wisc. — Milwaukee County leaders have announced a new service to help advance emergency treatment services by introducing the ability to offer whole blood transfusions in the field for critically ill trauma patients.
"This initiative is a testament to our commitment to pioneering improvements in emergency care, empowering our first responders, and most importantly, saving lives within Milwaukee County," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
This arrangement makes Milwaukee County’s EMS system the first in Wisconsin, and one of the first fire-based EMS systems in the nation, to offer this new care in the field.
Watch: County leaders announce a new initiative they say will reduce fatality rates:
"We are moving into a new era of pre-hospital care," said Dr. Ben Weston, chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County.
Leaders say Milwaukee County’s Office of Emergency Management EMS Division, which currently provides medical direction and administrative oversight for the 14 fire departments in the county, plans to provide resources, training, and logistics to support this new program.
"If patients receive blood in the field by EMS within, usually, 5 to 10 minutes of arrival, their mortality rate is about 7%, whereas if they waited to get to the hospital, their mortality rate was about 30%. We're hoping to bring that down to between 1 in 10 and there is evidence now to prove that," said Dan Pojar, EMS division director for Milwaukee County OEM.
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