Summit Fire & EMS and Red, White & Blue Fire emergency medical crews now carry “whole blood” to administer to trauma patients thanks to grant funding for a new program. A grant from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is funding programs for whole blood, or human blood with no components like plasma or platelets removed, nationwide. A group of EMS providers along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor are receiving funding. When attending to a patient in shock after a traumatic accident, medics previously have used intravenous fluids like saline to help stabilize them. Using whole blood works better, increasing the chance of survival as much as 50% and shortening their hospital stay by decreasing the effect of the traumatic injuries. Read more ...