04/13/2026
PRE-HOSPITAL BLOOD PROGRAM LAUNCHED
On Saturday, April 11, 2026, Pickens County Fire Rescue participated in the official groundbreaking for the prehospital blood administration program hosted by Gilmer County Fire & Rescue. The program is made possible by the Georgia Trauma Foundation that places life-saving blood products directly on select ambulances enabling specifically trained paramedics to administer them to critically injured trauma patients in the field.
Pickens County Fire entered into a tri-county partnership with Gilmer County Fire & Rescue and Fannin County Emergency Services to launch the pre-hospital blood program, which is a first โregional initiativeโ in the state along with several other individual agencies already delivering the services across the state. The initiative represents a major advancement in emergency medical care for North Georgia. It is estimated that approximately 60,000 people across the nation lose their lives annually because of blood loss resulting from trauma. By providing blood transfusions before patients reach the hospital, first responders can begin treating severe blood loss, the leading cause of preventable death in trauma, well in advance of arriving at a hospital and maybe reducing loss of life nationally by 40%.
Gilmer Fire will be the region leader with the initiative, assisting, delivering the blood products and equipment to designated scenes or locations when it is needed and requested. Gilmer Fire hosted the โtrain the trainerโ class that allowed local emergency personnel to be trained to deliver the training which has now been delivered to paramedics in all three counties. โThe program will allow our paramedics here in Pickens County the ability to deliver โhospital-levelโ care in the field which can significantly improve survival of trauma patientsโโ says Pickens County Fire Chief, Tim Prather. The expectation is for the program to progress to where each county will eventually manage and maintain its own program in the near future.
Huge thanks to the Georgia Trauma Foundation and the blood center of Life South for their support of the program. Also, thanks to Gilmer County Fire and EMS Chief Paul Beamon for taking the lead in getting the program started along with our area coordinator Scott Stephens from the Regional Trauma Advisory Committee.