The Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department has won a $192,984 federal grant to carry whole blood, plasma and trauma testing equipment to the scene of serious crashes, so that a patient who is bleeding badly can start receiving blood before the ambulance reaches the hospital. The City of Coral Springs announced the award on Friday, Nov. 6.

The money comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which pays for projects aimed at cutting deaths and serious injuries on American roads. The department's project is titled Reducing Roadway Fatalities Through Prehospital Whole Blood, Plasma, and Point-of-Care Trauma Diagnostics.

What the grant pays for

According to the city, the grant covers two prehospital blood response platforms, the whole blood and plasma capability that goes with them, point-of-care diagnostic tools for trauma patients, and the training and treatment protocols crews will follow when they use them.

The focus is severe blood loss from crash injuries. The project is built around starting treatment in the field rather than waiting for arrival at a trauma center. Point-of-care testing lets crews check a patient's condition on scene instead of relying on the hospital lab alone.

Data that reaches beyond Coral Springs

The project also includes a regional data collection and quality improvement effort. The department will track how the care is delivered and how patients do afterward, and the city says those findings will feed into the Broward Safety Action Plan, the countywide plan for reducing serious and fatal crashes.

Fire Chief John Whalen said the grant gives the communities the department serves faster access to critical care. Dr. Peter Antevy, the department's medical director, described the project as a way to put blood in the field across northwest Broward.

One of six Florida cities

The award is one of 13 Planning and Demonstration grants that went to Florida recipients in this round of the program, and Coral Springs is one of six Florida cities funded in that category, according to the city. The department thanked U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz and U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody for their support of the application.

The city did not give a date for when the blood response platforms will be in service.

For residents

Nothing changes in how residents call for help: dial 911 in an emergency. Updates on the project and on the department's other programs are posted on the Coral Springs Fire Department page and in the city's news feed at coralsprings.gov/news.

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