Paramedics say new medications and blood transfusions will transform emergency care.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi firefighters and paramedics are being recognized during National EMS Week for the lifesaving work they perform every day. Now, the department is also preparing to roll out new medications and emergency response tools aimed at improving patient care across the city.

At Fire Station 14 off Staples Street, firefighter paramedics Kerry Hale and Crystal Estrada demonstrated some of the equipment they rely on during emergency calls. The pair recently responded to a man suffering a heart attack on top of a commercial building roof.

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“You know, we did a really good job me and my partner,” Estrada said. “It turned into a rescue situation and we had to call the truck to get him down, but I think everything went really well and really smooth and I’m just praying for a full recovery for him.”

Now Corpus Christi firefighters are preparing to carry additional pain management medications on ambulances including ketamine, fentanyl and IV Tylenol.

Corpus Christi firefighters are now preparing to add new pain management medications to ambulances, including ketamine, fentanyl and IV Tylenol.

“IV Tylenol will probably be used the most because it’s easier. I think it’ll work. It’s something we’ll start off with,” Battalion Chief Andrew Cortez with CCFD EMS Operations said.

Hale said expanding medication options could help paramedics better treat patients with different needs.

“The different meds will definitely come in handy because not every med works for every person so it’s gonna be nice to kind of have those options there if something doesn’t work,” Hale explained.

Another advancement coming to Corpus Christi EMS response is the introduction of whole blood transfusions in the field.

Captain Trey Rodriguez’s field medical officer truck is now equipped to carry whole blood directly to trauma scenes. Officials said the state-funded program is designed to get lifesaving blood to critically injured patients faster than ever before.

Division Director Kathryn Gomez with the Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council said the concept is rooted in battlefield medicine.

“Physicians and medical directors say that if you have saline on the ambulance, you should also have blood,” Gomez said. “It’s something that was used in war and in the military decades ago so it’s kind of a full circle moment where we are now implementing it day-to-day.”

Captain Rodriguez believes the program could give critically injured patients a better chance at survival.

“Absolutely we believe we will be able to save lives that in the past, we would not have had that chance.”

The whole blood program is expected to launch June 1, with the new medications arriving shortly afterward.

National EMS Week runs from May 17 through May 23. The observance was first authorized by President Gerald Ford in 1974 to honor EMTs, paramedics and first responders nationwide.