News Releases

Grand Rapids, Mich., August 27, 2025 – Corewell Health^TM Aero Med is providing life-saving whole blood to patients experiencing significant blood loss before they get to the hospital.

This is one of the first pre-hospital whole-blood programs to launch in Michigan, and it is a significant improvement in how emergency care is delivered in the field.

Donated blood is traditionally separated into various components, including packed red blood cells, platelets and plasma.  Trauma patients, especially those experiencing severe hemorrhaging, often need all components. While Aero Med has carried packed red blood cells and plasma for many years, they will now be able to rapidly administer whole-blood transfusions to stabilize critical patients.

“Aero Med’s mission is to give our patients their best chance of survival and for some trauma patients, whole blood can mean the difference between life and death,” said Tiffany Obetts, director, Corewell Health Aero Med.

Aero Med partnered with the Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital Trauma Team and Blood Bank to implement this life-saving intervention. The project has been in the works for nearly three years and received approval to go live in mid-July. The whole blood will be carried aboard helicopters in temperature-controlled medical transport coolers.

“We are not the first air program to implement whole blood, but we remain among the early adopters, and this will enhance our trauma care,” said Aaron Ziegler, M.D., medical director, Corewell Health Aero Med. “A 2024 study published in JAMA Surgery found that early transfusion of whole blood was associated with improved mortality among patients receiving it along with massive transfusion with component products, compared to those who received it later.”

About Corewell Health™

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people—including more than 12,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 16,000 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org

About Corewell Health^TM Aero Med

Corewell Health Aero Med has been providing ICU level care in the sky for 38 years. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Aero Med cares for patients needing transport from scenes of accidents and hospitals within and outside the Corewell Health system. Aero Med’s clinical capabilities allow trauma teams to begin delivering the definitive level of care patients will receive in the emergency room before they even arrive.