PITTSBURGH, PA — UPMC is donating 229 medical trauma kits to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, city officials announced Wednesday, expanding officers’ ability to provide emergency care before paramedics arrive.
The donation includes 160 kits for front-line patrol vehicles. Each vehicle kit contains two tourniquets, chest seals, emergency trauma dressings, trauma shears and hemostatic gauze, according to the City of Pittsburgh.
UPMC is also providing 65 individual kits for SWAT officers and tactical paramedics, along with four disaster and mass-casualty response bags. Those larger bags include advanced bleeding-control supplies, airway and breathing equipment, warming blankets and blood-administration sets.
“Every second matters in a medical emergency and when our police are the first on the scene, they’ll now have access to medical trauma kits to start providing critical care until EMS arrives,” Mayor Corey O’Connor said in the announcement.
UPMC plans to train officers to use the equipment and replenish supplies as needed. Police Chief Jason Lando said the kits will give officers another critical tool when responding to emergencies and providing lifesaving assistance while additional medical resources are en route.
The health system previously committed a total of $35 million toward modernizing Pittsburgh’s emergency medical services vehicles and equipment, the city said.
Representative image: A commercially available trauma kit. Photo by Tony Webster, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: City of Pittsburgh official announcement.
The Pittsburgh Times
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