Highlights from the Post-Crash Care Summit
On August 6, the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS) and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) co-hosted “Post-Crash Care Summit: The Role of EMS in Reducing Roadway Deaths & Injury” with support from NHTSA’s Office of EMS. The free, day-long summit was open to the public and focused on understanding opportunities for public safety and highway safety collaboration to improve post-crash care.
National EMS data shows that EMS responds to more than 1.5 million crashes on roadways annually, and it is estimated that 20% of calls to 911 are related to an incident on a road or street. NHTSA’s Office of EMS and the National 911 Program continue to facilitate collaboration between public safety and highway safety leaders to leverage federal resources and encourage joint improvement projects that may reduce motor vehicle crash mortality.
Speaking at the event, NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman encouraged EMS clinicians, 911 professionals, staff at State Highway Safety Offices, hospitals, and local government to work together to reduce fatalities and serious injuries following motor-vehicle crashes on U.S. streets and roadways.
“Innovations in care could reduce the number of people who are alive when first responders arrive, but later die, potentially saving thousands of lives a year,” said Shulman in her keynote remarks. Evidence-based solutions will be critical to reducing death and disability; for example, Shulman cited lessons learned on military battlefields related to trauma care that can directly inform a better approach to post-crash care.
The potential impact of prehospital blood transfusion was an important theme. “It’s time to equip EMS with the training, equipment and blood supply needed to conduct immediate transfusions,” she said. “The evidence is clear, and the lifesaving potential is enormous. To make this lifesaving change a reality, get everyone involved. Talk to your mayors and city managers. Meet with your health departments. Reach out to your state highway safety offices and transportation departments. Build relationships with your blood banks and hospital administrators. We’ll need everyone at the table if we’re to implement this game-changing solution.”
The summit included a wide range of esteemed experts in EMS and 911 at the state, local and federal level, as well as researchers and clinicians, and convened nearly 700 participants in person and virtually. You can find a recording of the full summit here, and below are panel highlights and the timestamps for each to quickly locate that information in the video:
Discussion of benefits of prehospital blood programs (0:36)
Panel 1: Opportunities & State Office Practices (1:09)
Panel 2: The Role of 911 in Post-Crash Care (1:58)
NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman’s keynote address (4:05)
Panel 3: Crash Response Planning Countermeasures (4:11)
Panel 4: Systems-based Countermeasures (5:05)
Panel 5: System Performance Enhancement (6:05)
Q&A (7:13)
To learn more about post-crash care in EMS and 911 and how to collaborate with highway safety, visit ems.gov.