Cameron Drummond
Austin American-Statesman
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — Acadian Ambulance Service, Bastrop County’s ambulance service provider, is launching two new programs as part of the services it provides to the county.
During the April 26 Bastrop County Commissioners Court meeting, Rusty Wood, the Texas director of operations for Acadian, explained the two new programs and the anticipated timeline.
One program, the creation of a Bastrop County Acadian Ambulance Explorers program, will help get young people in Bastrop County involved with emergency medical services, Wood said. The other program will see Acadian, in conjunction with We Are Blood, start its whole blood program in Bastrop County and will make more blood available to county patients inside Acadian’s rural response truck, which is also known as a critical care power truck.
“These two programs are not new to Acadian, but they will be new to our service line that we provide in Bastrop County,” said Wood, who previously served as the operations manager for Acadian’s Central Texas region.
Acadian has provided ambulance service to Bastrop County and the cities of Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville since 2014.
Bastrop County Acadian Ambulance Explorers
Wood said the Bastrop County Acadian Ambulance Explorers program was launched in the county, in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America, on April 19.
The program provides an opportunity at the high school-level for young people to become familiar with the emergency medical services industry.
Wood said after program participants complete in-house training and purchase a uniform, they will be able to ride-along on Acadian ambulance calls; participate in events, such as Tough Mudder competitions; and act as medical standbys during local football games.
“They will be representing Bastrop emergency management services and Acadian Ambulance as community leaders,” Wood said.
Whole Blood Program
Acadian’s whole blood program is also coming to Bastrop County.
The whole blood program is in conjunction with We Are Blood, which serves more than 40 hospitals and medical facilities in a 10-county area and was formerly known as The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas, among other previous names.
As part of the whole blood program, Wood said Acadian will now carry one pint of whole blood on its rural response truck, which is also known as Acadian’s critical care power truck.
“That particular whole blood will be moving around Bastrop County and any ambulance in Bastrop County will be able to call for that,” Wood said. “We will add a second paramedic to that ambulance. We will be able to warm and administer that blood while we’re transporting that individual into a trauma hospital (and) if we need to hand off the patient to a helicopter, we will still be able to do that.”
Wood added that one of Bastrop County’s air ambulance providers, PHI Air Medical, also has blood on board.
“Potentially, an individual can get up to two pints of blood prior to arriving at emergency services,” Wood said.
The whole blood program has an expected launch date of Saturday in Bastrop County, Wood said. “There should not be any hiccups with that.”
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