Saint Mary’s Blood Bank Supports Waterbury Regional SWAT Team

Dr. Wesley Kyle and Kelly Mojica, Saint Mary's Blood Bank Manager, commemorate the first implementation of Whole Blood Program.

Recently sworn in as police physicians for the Naugatuck Police Department, Saint Mary’s Emergency Department physicians Wes Kyle, M.D. and Scott Whyte, D.O., also serve as tactical medics on the Waterbury Regional SWAT Team. Drs. Kyle and Whyte have provided volunteer medical support for regional SWAT teams for over a decade. In their roles, they respond to various calls with the SWAT teams and are on hand should officers or civilians require medical care. In some cases, they have been called to assist federal law enforcement agencies.

In an effort to enhance the support they provide in the field, Dr. Kyle worked with Saint Mary’s Blood Bank to coordinate the whole blood program and streamline its implementation. As medics for the SWAT Team, Dr. Kyle or Dr. Whyte can request one to two units of whole blood to utilize on a SWAT Team mission. This includes, but is not limited to, operations such as responding to hostage situations, violent barricaded subjects, active shooter events or pre-planned high risk warrant services.

Once signed out from Saint Mary’s Blood Bank, the whole blood is stored between one and nine degrees Celsius in a special cooler. A compact, portable, battery-operated blood warming system, including state-of-the-art blood tubing, warms the blood to 100 degrees Fahrenheit just prior to delivery to patients. This is similar technology used by military operations globally, and follows the same principles used in the hospital. The blood is viable for up to six hours in the special coolers. Upon completion of the mission or just prior to the six-hour mark, unused blood is returned to the Blood Bank for utilization elsewhere in the hospital.

According to Dr. Kyle, a former Battalion Surgeon with the Connecticut Army National Guard, having whole blood makes a huge difference in the field, evidenced by hard-learned lessons from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two decades. “The number one cause of potentially survivable death in combat is hemorrhage within the truncal region. When there is bleeding within the chest or abdomen, it is not responsive to wound packing or other field treatment as hemorrhage in these locations can only be stopped in the operating room,” said Dr. Kyle. “Transfusing whole blood to these patients is the best treatment available to prevent a patient from bleeding out before getting to the operating room.”

Whole blood is becoming the standard of care for trauma across the world. It was only recently that civilian trauma centers began following military trauma practice of delivering blood in its whole form, as opposed to separated components of packed red blood cells, platelets and plasma, which had been standard of care since the 1970’s. Military research and experience, however, has identified whole blood, which already contains the necessary clotting factors and platelets, is better suited for the bleeding patient.

“This program would not be possible without the support from Saint Mary’s Blood Bank, Emergency Department leaders and hospital leadership,” said Dr. Kyle. “It is truly remarkable to see an entire health care system mobilize to support officers in high-risk situations.”