{"id":123645,"date":"2025-07-09T01:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=123645"},"modified":"2025-07-08T15:33:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T20:33:22","slug":"ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/","title":{"rendered":"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Omaha Fire Department has launched Nebraska\u2019s first ground-based prehospital blood transfusion program, an innovative and lifesaving initiative designed to improve survival rates in trauma and critical medical emergencies. As of June 30, OFD Medic units M21 and M31 are equipped with transfusable blood, making Omaha the first city in the state to offer this critical capability outside of air ambulance services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 7, two additional Medic units, M42 and M61, also began carrying whole blood. This expansion will strategically position blood supplies at all four corners of the city, ensuring comprehensive, citywide coverage and rapid response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This groundbreaking program is the result of a collaborative partnership between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and the Nebraska Community Blood Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, the only EMS units in Nebraska and Iowa equipped for pre-hospital blood transfusions were LifeNet helicopter ambulances, which operate from five locations across the state with limited blood inventory. With this new initiative, ground-based EMS providers now can initiate transfusions directly at the scene or during transport, providing critically needed care to patients suffering from life-threatening blood loss due to trauma or medical emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving a blood supply in emergency vehicles that enables paramedics to begin transfusions at the scene could have prevented over 150 deaths in the past five years in the Omaha area,\u201d said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Reynold Henry, MD, Nebraska Medicine trauma surgeon and lead on the project who also is an assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Surgery. \u201cGoing forward, this initiative could save more than 30 lives each year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership at the Omaha Fire Department emphasized the program\u2019s potential to transform prehospital emergency care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis program represents a significant breakthrough in how we respond to trauma and critical emergencies,\u201d said Fire Chief Kathy Bossman of the Omaha Fire Department. \u201cBy equipping our medic units with lifesaving blood, we are enhancing our ability to deliver immediate, advanced care in the field. This program has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes and sets a new standard for prehospital emergency care in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nebraska Community Blood Bank will manage and supply the program with a consistent and reliable inventory of whole blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery second counts in an emergency,\u201d said Cheryl Warholoski, executive director of the Nebraska Community Blood Bank. \u201cHaving blood onboard ambulances will help save lives before patients even reach the hospital. We\u2019re proud to help make this a reality in partnership with the Omaha Fire Department and Nebraska Medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pioneering initiative already is drawing interest from other fire departments across the state. Discussions are underway with departments in Bellevue, Lincoln and Kearney to expand the program. Private donors and community partners also have expressed interest in supporting the next phase, with Nebraska Medicine continuing to play a key role in guiding its development and broader rollout.<\/p>\nAOhmytYjj IDtb rA<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":123649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"66432,59192,52174,21843,41921,50723","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-community","department-trauma-and-surgical-critical-care","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","author_override-omaha-fire-department-and-nebraska-medicine"],"yoast_head":"\nOFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-09T06:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey Robb\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeffrey Robb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeffrey Robb\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c\"},\"headline\":\"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-09T06:55:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\"},\"wordCount\":474,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\",\"name\":\"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-09T06:55:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"An innovative prehospital blood transfusion program was announced Monday at Nebraska Medical Center. Speaking at the press conference were, from right, Omaha Mayor John Ewing, Jr., Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Reynold Henry, MD, Nebraska Medicine trauma surgeon.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/unmc\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/iamunmc\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/UNMCEDU\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c\",\"name\":\"Jeffrey Robb\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/d09bf41544a3365a46c9077ebb5e35c3\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program","description":"The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program","og_description":"The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","article_published_time":"2025-07-09T06:55:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1365,"url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeffrey Robb","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@unmc","twitter_site":"@unmc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeffrey Robb","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/"},"author":{"name":"Jeffrey Robb","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c"},"headline":"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program","datePublished":"2025-07-09T06:55:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/"},"wordCount":474,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/","name":"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-09T06:55:00+00:00","description":"The lifesaving initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Omaha Fire Department, Nebraska Medicine and Nebraska Community Blood Bank.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PrehospitalBlood070825.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"caption":"An innovative prehospital blood transfusion program was announced Monday at Nebraska Medical Center. Speaking at the press conference were, from right, Omaha Mayor John Ewing, Jr., Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Reynold Henry, MD, Nebraska Medicine trauma surgeon."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/09\/ofd-launches-prehospital-blood-transfusion-program\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"OFD launches prehospital blood transfusion program"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization","name":"University of Nebraska Medical Center","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","width":500,"height":153,"caption":"University of Nebraska Medical Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","https:\/\/x.com\/unmc","https:\/\/instagram.com\/iamunmc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/UNMCEDU"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c","name":"Jeffrey Robb","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/d09bf41544a3365a46c9077ebb5e35c3\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123645"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123648,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123645\/revisions\/123648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}