O’FALLON, Mo. — When it comes to helicopter air ambulance services, quality patient care is a top priority. All 11 Air Evac Lifeteam bases in the state of Georgia now carry blood and blood products on every flight. The company recently partnered OneBlood to supply each Georgia Air Evac Lifeteam base with blood and blood products.
Donald Mixon, senior program director with Air Evac Lifeteam’s Jesup, Ga., base, said red blood cells and liquid plasma are now available to the medical crews for patients who may suffer from severe blood loss and require aggressive fluid resuscitation in the course of their care.
“We use blood and blood products in the care of patients who require the next step in the fluid resuscitation process as we transport them to a higher level of care,” he said. “Liquid plasma is a great asset to have available, as it assists in clotting for patients experiencing severe blood loss as well as being helpful in the management of a certain subset of specific medical conditions. The concurrent use of red cells and plasma is becoming the preferred treatment for patients experiencing severe blood loss due to traumatic injury.”
Mixon said he is grateful to OneBlood for partnering with Air Evac in providing access to the blood products, and for sharing their guidance and expertise on the proper storage and management of the products.
“Air Evac Lifeteam made a great investment in order to provide the blood and blood products to our patients,” he said. “This is one more example of Air Evac’s dedication to providing the highest level of care to our patients.”
“OneBlood is proud to be Air Evac Lifeteam’s new partner in saving lives”, said Bud Scholl, president and CEO for OneBlood. “When a patient is in need of a blood transfusion, time is of the essence. Our new partnership will further strengthen patient care and help save lives.”
Air Evac Lifeteam, headquartered in O’Fallon, Mo., is the nation’s leading helicopter air ambulance provider. Air Evac currently has 141 air medical bases across 15 states, and provides rapid medical transport to people who need access to advanced emergency health care. Flight crews, consisting of a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic, are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to the scene of an emergency, or provide transportation between medical facilities. For more information, please visit www.lifeteam.net, or like us on Facebook.