In 2025, Metropolitan Planning Agency (MAPA) led the development of a Safe Streets for All Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP) for Douglas and Sarpy counties and the Iowa cities of Council Bluffs, Carter Lake, Crescent, and McClelland. This plan laid the foundation for safety improvement projects across the region with the goal of no traffic fatalities by the year 2040, but did not specifically include EMS post-crash care activities.
So, MAPA submitted a grant application for funding to boost post-crash care in region.
As Jim Boerner, MAPA Transportation Planner and the Project Manager for this program, explained to Mike Hogan on KIOS-FM’s “Live & Local” program, Federal crash data show that in 2024, 66% of people killed in crashes in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area died either on their way to the hospital or at the hospital. Severe blood loss is the leading cause of preventable death in trauma cases like crashes. The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) has applied for a grant which aims to improve survival rates by helping boost post-crash care.
The program would fund pre-hospital blood transfusions and other lifesaving work at crash scenes. This trial will include the Bennington, Waterloo, Gretna, and Council Bluffs Fire Departments, with each department trying out one or more improved post-crash care capabilities. Omaha and Bellevue have whole blood transfusion programs with their fire departments already.
More information about this work and other MAPA projects can be found at https://mapacog.org/.
