Gilmer Fire and Rescue’s kits increase emergency response effectiveness
The time between injury and blood transfusion can decide life or death.
That’s why Gilmer Fire and Rescue’s (GFR) new transfusion kits make a difference for everyone in the county.
“That’s a game changer,” Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division Fire Chief Paul Beamon said.
Severe blood loss is the leading cause of preventable death in trauma.
A blood transfusion decreases someone’s chance of death by 60 percent.
“They’re four times more likely to survive a significant trauma event than those who do not receive blood,” he said.
In an emergency, EMS workers can immediately give injured people a transfusion of O-positive blood cells with blood plasma removed.
This type of transfusion is safe for everyone, except for some pregnant women.
reviously, GFR used IV fluid to help people who lost blood in accidents. But it can’t carry oxygen in the same way blood does.
With new money from a grant and from the county commissioners, GFR has purchased blood transfusion kits, as well as LIFEPAK 35 cardiac monitor/defibrator units for its emergency response units.
These tools will greatly improve the department’s ability to provide lifesaving medical care.
“It’s going to get put into action April 11,” Beamon said.
GFR will also help respond to emergencies in Fannin and Pickens counties when needed.
Of course, to save lives with blood transfusion, the department needs blood.
In the future, GFR plans to supply blood in two ways.
The first way is community blood drives.
The first will be on April 11, starting 10 a.m. at GFR headquarters, located at 325 Howard Simmons Road in Ellijay.
After that, medical company LifeSouth Community Blood Centers will organize quarterly blood drives.
The second is through a purchasing arrangement with LifeSouth.
These two methods ensure that the department will always have the blood it needs.
“Blood does not last like IV fluid,” he said.
To EMS personnel, the new machines mean saved lives.
“If you get into an accident in Gilmer County and you’re bleeding, your chances just improved greatly,” Beamon said.