Acadian Air Med, a medical flight service serving Terrebonne and Lafourche along with the southern parts of Louisiana, will now be carrying blood on board to help save more lives. With this change, the crew will be able to carry out emergency blood transfusions to patients in need.
Partnership with United Blood Services
The ability to carry blood on board is thanks to a partnership between the service and United Blood Services. According to the service officials, Acadian Air Med has now become the first medical flight service serving the Gulf of Mexico workers along with the oil and gas platforms to carry in-flight blood supplies.
According to the Dr. Charles Burnell, the chief medical officer of the company, the patients they service will now have a better chance of survival even though they’re located very remotely. It has been extremely challenging for air ambulance providers to carry blood on board because of issues such as temperature, air pressure fluctuations, etc. And there are only a few air ambulance helicopters in the South that carry blood on board.
Investment Made to Save More Lives with Medical Flight Service
Dr. Burnell also added that the company has been seeing an increase in the number of critically injured or ill patients who have had to be transported for long distances. As a result of this, they have chosen to invest in providing the vital service through all their Air Med fleet. Each of their aircrafts carries two units of blood during each shift and has two more ready for restocking.
Two units of blood can make a huge difference for a patient that’s experienced significant blood loss. Even with this recent addition, they have already managed to make a difference for some patients.
