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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS — WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER EMS
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
When the Williamson Medical Center (WMC) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was approved to carry and administer blood products in the field last fall, paramedic McKenna Dubbert knew the move would save lives.
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She just didn’t know that one of them would be her own father.
“We had just dropped off a patient at Williamson and were returning to our zone in Nolensville when I got a call from my mother,” McKenna recalled. “We showed up at the house and verified that his blood pressure was very low. He was definitely in shock.”
Once McKenna and her fellow paramedics loaded Dubbert’s father, Bruce, onto the ambulance and assessed his condition, they determined they needed to administer blood. Almost immediately, Bruce’s condition improved.
“I was in the ambulance and still thinking this wasn’t a big deal until someone came in with a unit of blood and administered it to me,” Bruce said. “I don’t know that I would have made it without the blood. It bought me the time to get to the hospital.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
WMC EMS, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is the first and only 911 ground EMS provider in the state approved by the Tennessee Department of Health EMS Board to carry and administer blood products in the field. The system is one of only seven across the country authorized to administer blood to patients before arrival at the hospital.
“If a patient is in a situation where they are losing massive amounts of blood, whether it’s from an injury or an internal issue, the only solution is to administer blood products,” said Michael Wallace, Williamson Medical Center EMS Director. “You can start IVs and administer fluids, but these do not carry oxygen to the body like blood does. Being able to administer blood in the field can truly be the difference between life and death.”
While air medical transports have routinely carried blood products for years, it isn’t a common practice for ground-based community ambulances. To obtain approval, the WMC EMS team first completed a pilot project with the state EMS board before being granted permanent approval. Paramedics also took part in rigorous training focused on the storage and administration of blood products.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
“Detailed procedures have been put into place to make sure that we are administering the product under the right circumstances,” Wallace said.
Garnering approval to carry and administer blood products isn’t the only way WMC EMS is pursuing innovation. Last fall, the department introduced a new ambulance model customdesigned by a team of WMC EMS paramedics. The redesigned ambulance features curbside seating with a safety chair, allowing a paramedic or attendant EMT to be safely seated and seat belted at all times but still able to provide life-saving care to patients in transport. In addition, any equipment that could become a projectile in the event of a car accident has been properly restrained within the paramedic’s reach.
The EMS team recently added unique kits to each ambulance with items to help calm children who may be overwhelmed in an emergency situation. The boxes, named Grayson’s Gadgets after a WMC paramedic’s son, include small headphones and a variety of sensory tools. The kits are extremely helpful for children with a variety of special needs but also for any child who needs a distraction from an accident, injury or other emergency circumstance.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
“We spend a lot of time, energy and effort to ensure we deliver best-in-class service to the community at large,” Wallace said. “Our goal is to provide exceedingly exceptional service — the best emergency care that’s possible.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSON MEDICAL CENTER
While the innovations, certifications and advanced technologies certainly help, the real reason WMC EMS can provide exceptional service and topnotch healthcare is simple, Wallace said. It’s the EMS staff.
“None of this works without our exceptional staff,” Wallace said. “We really do go out of our way to recruit the best. Our staff is our #1 resource.”
WMC EMS is Williamson County’s primary 911 emergency medical provider, employing more than 150 AEMTs, Paramedics, Critical Care Paramedics and support personnel, and operating 17 staffed Advanced Life Support ambulances. They are now a four-time recipient of the annual “Star of Life” award for Tennessee EMS Region Five, a multi-year recipient of the American Heart Association: Mission Lifeline recognition and was most recently named the Tennessee Ambulance Service Association 2020 ALS Service of the Year. To learn more, visit williamsonmedicalcenter.org.
