A Riverview fire station will soon play a key role in a new emergency medical program designed to deliver lifesaving whole blood by drone directly to trauma scenes.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Station 37 in Riverview is one of two stations selected to serve as a launch site for Tampa General Hospital’s new emergency drone delivery program. The initiative is designed to get blood to patients experiencing severe blood loss before they reach a hospital, when every minute can make a difference.
The program, developed in partnership with Tampa General Hospital, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, the Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services, OneBlood and Archer First Response Systems, is being billed as the nation’s first EMS-driven drone delivery program for prehospital whole blood.
Station 37, along with Station 9 in the Falkenburg/Sabal Park area, will serve as the initial operating locations. Together, the two drone systems are expected to cover a 70-square-mile area and deliver whole blood in less than three minutes on average.
When a 911 call indicates a potentially life-threatening hemorrhage, emergency responders will be dispatched while a drone carrying whole blood can be deployed simultaneously. Once the blood arrives, trained first responders can begin a transfusion at the scene when medically necessary, potentially providing critical treatment before the patient reaches a trauma center.
The two stations were selected because they serve areas of Hillsborough County with high volumes of penetrating trauma and hemorrhagic injuries.
“The golden hour of trauma care has always started at the hospital door until now,” said Michele Moran, senior vice president for emergency services at Tampa General. “This program puts whole blood directly into the hands of first responders before a patient ever reaches us.”
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials said the program will give first responders another tool for treating patients with severe injuries.
“Our crews are often first at the scene of an accident,” said Todd Carnell, rescue division chief. “This program puts an essential, lifesaving resource directly in our hands at the scene.”
The technology is expected to come online in October, pending approval by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. The commission convened on the matter September 2.
The pilot program is intended to generate data that could help expand the coverage area and capacity over time. Tampa General officials also hope the initiative can serve as a model for using drone technology to improve emergency medical response in other communities.
