The Alice Fire Department and EMS is now part of the regional pre-hospital whole blood program, making it one of only four fire departments in the area authorized to administer blood in the field before a patient reaches the hospital.
The program, which officially launched about three months ago, gives paramedics a new tool when treating critically injured patients — particularly in rural areas of Jim Wells County where advanced trauma care can be more than an hour away.
Alice Fire Chief Patrick Thomas said the department spent months training and planning before the program went live.
"It's already saving lives. We've had incidents where we've already had to use it. I think it's a great program for our community," Thomas said.
Thomas said Alice's location makes it strategically positioned to respond across South Texas, including rural communities where access to high-level emergency care is limited.
"Just because you don't live in San Antonio or in the Austin area, that doesn't mean you can't - that you shouldn't have access to that high-quality care when an emergency happens," Thomas said.
Roland Padilla, whole blood project manager for the Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council (CBRAC), said many rural hospitals are designed to stabilize patients rather than provide higher-level trauma care — and that gap is where pre-hospital blood administration can make a critical difference.
"When it comes to critical patients in these areas its - the care can be a little more difficult till you get them to definitive care," Padilla said.
Allegiance Mobile Health paramedic Joey Campos said not every patient will require this level of intervention, but for some, it can mean the difference between life and death.
"This gives us the ability to not only do very invasive in the back of an ambulance, but also to be responsible enough to - to carry whole blood," Campos said.
Campos recalled a call from just weeks ago involving a woman who appeared lifeless. After working with the new program, the outcome was dramatic.
"Before we even got everything ready to get back on the road - and we were leaving the hospital - she was sitting up talking with her son. So, completely different effects," Campos said.
Officials say they hope to expand the program and level of care throughout the Coastal Bend and improve survival outcomes across the region.
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