Clark County to Receive $820,480 For Blood Transfusion Program to Reduce Traffic-Related Deaths

Clark County to Receive $820,480 For Blood Transfusion Program to Reduce Traffic-Related Deaths

Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe receives $102K to develop traffic safety plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, announced that Clark County and the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe will each receive funding to make their roadways safer for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program. With this new round of awards, Washington state communities have received a total of $88.8 million for 78 different projects through the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program since it was established.

The grants announced today include:

The Clark County Emergency Medical Services Council will receive $820,480 to implement the Clark County Prehospital Transfusion Team. This award will be used to implement a countywide prehospital whole blood transfusion demonstration to enhance post-crash care in Clark County, Washington. Activities include training, protocols, vehicle equipment, data collection, and continuous quality improvement. Expected outcomes are reduced motor-vehicle crash mortality rate per 100,000 population, improved clinical process measures, and a scalable model to inform future post-crash care initiatives.

"This grant will allow first responders in Clark County to bring the necessary resources to perform blood transfusions directly to car crash sites -- shaving off vital, lifesaving minutes for patients to get care before they get to the hospital," said Sen. Cantwell.

The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe will receive $102,000 to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan for the Shoalwater Bay Reservation. Work includes data collection and analysis, public involvement, high-injury network and safety task force development, project identification, and final reports; deliverables are a reservation-wide Action Plan, GIS files, and prioritized countermeasures informed by crash analysis to guide future infrastructure and relocation designs.

Sen. Cantwell authored the Safe Streets and Roads For All program, steered its authorization through the Commerce Committee, and ensured that the program was among the transportation investments included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Since the law's signing in November 2021, it has funded more than 1,600 transportation projects in the state including road, bridge, and port projects.

Safe Streets and Roads for All grants help local governments carry out Vision Zero plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, including for cyclists and pedestrians. These projects are critical to stem the rise of pedestrian fatalities in the state.

Data about Washington state traffic collisions and fatalities broken down by city and county is available HERE.

###