Saluda County EMS Director Emphasizes the Importance of CDBG Project’s Potential to Save Lives

Saluda County Emergency Medical Services Director Jacob Starnes is thankful for a Community Development Block Grant which will fund life-saving equipment for a county which does not have an emergency medical facility. “There is no telling when a patient might need it,” he said.

Saluda County will receive $65,872 to purchase equipment to store and transport vital lifesaving pre-hospital blood for trauma patients. The equipment will provide blood products that will aid in on-scene patient stabilization, significantly improving outcomes for patients with rapid blood loss.

“This project is extremely important and life-saving for citizens or visitors to Saluda County,” Starnes added. “This project will allow patients to receive plasma and packed red blood cells pre-hospital in the back of an ambulance in a county that doesn’t have a hospital.”

The grant will provide funding for an autonomous portable refrigeration unit blood cooler, a compact disposable unit, blood administration kits and more accessories.

The grant award was announced earlier this week, the first of its kind ever announced by the SC Department of Commerce. Upper Savannah COG Community Development staff prepared and submitted the grant application to the State.

The equipment and accessories will likely be purchased in a few months since all CDBG projects include a start-up phase.

Saluda County does not have a hospital or emergency medical facility to aid in emergency calls. Patients must be transported by ambulance or air medical services to the nearest emergency medical facility.

The closest emergency room facilities for Saluda County are Edgefield County Hospital (29 minutes), Newberry County Memorial Hospital (approximately 34 minutes), and Self Regional Hospital in Greenwood (approximately 39 minutes)..The nearest Level III trauma centers are Self Regional and Lexington Medical Center in Lexington. Aiken Regional Medical Center is a Level IV trauma center.

“People automatically think trauma when they think of getting blood products,” Starnes said. “However, while researching this wonderful grant opportunity, we noticed that over the past year we could/would have given blood products more to medical patients (GI bleed, OB/GYN complications, profound hypotension with positive shock index) than trauma patients.”

The emergency medical call history in Saluda County revealed approximately 17 cases in 2024 that fell into the statewide blood administration protocol. These cases include seven traumatic incidents, eight gastrointestinal-related cases, and two obstetric/gynecological hemorrhages.

Starnes said this project will improve survival by rapidly restoring oxygen carrying red blood cells and delivering vital clotting factors and proteins to stop bleeding effectively.

“I am super excited to get to work on this project and blessed that we are able to get these products with the assistance of this grant,” he said.

Starnes said that packed red blood cells and plasma are essential in bridging the gap until hospital care can be given. “It reduces mortality and extends survivability in both medical and trauma patients when there is not quick access to a hospital,” he said.