Press Releases

 

CATRAC Participates in GivingTuesday to Strengthen Emergency Healthcare Across Central Texas

PRESS RELEASE: November 18, 2025

The Capital Area Texas Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC) will participate in GivingTuesday on December 2, 2025, joining a global movement that encourages generosity and community support.

CATRAC is the regional coordinating body across 11 Central Texas counties, supporting trauma, emergency healthcare systems, and disaster response. CATRAC partners with EMS agencies, fire departments, hospitals, and community organizations to enhance emergency healthcare and reduce morbidity and mortality. This GivingTuesday, CATRAC invites the community to support initiatives that improve patient care and regional healthcare preparedness.

“Every day, emergency responders and hospitals work together to save lives,” said Douglas Havron, CEO of CATRAC. “GivingTuesday is an opportunity for our community to strengthen the systems behind that lifesaving work.”

Donations Will Support:

  • Strengthening our region’s ability to respond to any disaster
  • Community Safety Trainings such as Stop the Bleed and Car Seat Checks
  • Healthcare Provider Educational Events

The region’s rapid growth and increasing emergency demands highlight the need for strong, coordinated emergency healthcare systems. “Whether we’re advancing data-informed regional initiatives or driving performance improvement across all healthcare disciplines, our mission is to ensure the system is ready,” said Kat Ruiz, Director of Emergency Healthcare Systems. “Community support allows us to strengthen and sustain these lifesaving efforts.”

How to Support CATRAC on GivingTuesday:

Even small contributions make a meaningful impact on emergencyhealthcare across Central Texas. Donations can be made by scanning the QR code or at: tinyurl.com/CATRACDonation

 

Download: CATRAC Participates in GivingTuesday to Strengthen Emergency Healthcare Across Central Texas

Download: Optimizing Patient Access to Life-Saving Whole Blood

Optimizing Patient Access to Life-Saving Whole Blood

PRESS RELEASE: July 29, 2025
Beginning August 1, the Capital Area of Texas Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC) will fully launch its digital regional whole blood program. This end-to-end solution marks a pivotal milestone by improving early access to life-saving blood transfusions, optimizing patient outcomes, and streamlining unit tracking across CATRAC’s 11-county region. Since its initial rollout in 2022, the program has significantly strengthened prehospital whole blood administration and enriched regional data outcomes for critically ill patients.
“Providing whole blood access at the earliest possible moment in the prehospital setting delivers critical therapy that can save lives, especially for patients facing prolonged transport or extrication times,” said Dr. Emily Kidd, Chair of the CATRAC Whole Blood Workgroup. “While whole blood was available in some parts of the region before, this program broadens access to additional areas and introduces a standardized system to track administration, availability, and patient outcomes across all EMS agencies, hospitals, and blood providers” says Dr. Kidd.
Effective August 1, the fully integrated technology platform will automate communication between EMS providers and receiving hospitals, replacing paper-based documentation with a streamlined, digital, HIPAA compliant system. This transition marks a major step forward in operational efficiency, data standardization, and regional multi-system coordination. To broaden the impact of this innovative solution, expansion discussions are underway with other Regional Advisory Councils.
The CATRAC Board of Directors expresses continued support for the Regional Whole Blood Program as it evolves to a fully digital platform.
This program represents a collaborative effort among EMS agencies, healthcare systems, and blood providers, facilitating real-time EMS Medical Director evaluation, hospital blood bank notification, and ongoing system improvements. The platform ensures efficient utilization of blood products, maximizing availability when and where they are most needed.
CATRAC thanks the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for supporting this crucial advancement in emergency healthcare and improving critical therapy access.
For more information, visit catrac.org.
 

CATRAC Enhances Regional Whole Blood Program

PRESS RELEASE: June 5, 2025
On June 1, the Capital Area of Texas Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC) launched a regional pilot program focused on whole blood rotation and a regional collaborative technology platform to identify whole blood usage by EMS, saving lives across the 11-county region. “Whole blood access at the earliest possible time (by EMS) provides life-saving therapy to critically ill trauma and medical patients who might otherwise die secondary to prolonged transport or extrication time,” says Dr. Emily Kidd, Acadian Ambulance Medical Director and Chair of the CATRAC Whole Blood Workgroup.
 
The blood rotation program is a partnership between multiple EMS agencies, trauma centers, and blood providers, allowing for real-time evaluation, workflow integration, and continuous system improvement. This functionality supports efficient utilization of all available blood units, helping ensure blood products are available when they are needed.
The regional collaborative technology platform introduces a streamlined system for emergency medical services and the receiving healthcare providers to collaborate regarding whole blood administration and conduct regional system improvement. This enables the region to quantify the impact of whole blood use in the prehospital setting and support data driven decisions. Dr. Kidd added, “while whole blood was available in some areas of the CATRAC region before, this initiative increases the availability of whole blood to some additional areas and also seeks to provide a better way to track administration, availability, and patient outcomes where whole blood was administered, regardless of EMS agency, hospital blood bank, or blood provider.” 
 
CATRAC is excited to expand the region’s whole blood program and is thankful to the Texas Legislature for the opportunity to broaden the access of life-saving care.
 
About CATRAC:
CATRAC is mandated by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to serve our 11-county region in central Texas, also known as Trauma Service Area O (TSA-O). Our objective is to reduce the incidence of trauma, acute illness, and injury through education, data collection/analysis, disaster preparedness, and performance improvement. CATRAC is comprised of representatives from hospitals, EMS agencies, fire departments, first responders, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare and emergency preparedness related agencies. 
 

 

Download: CATRAC Enhances Regional Whole Blood Program

Blanco County Fire/EMS is Expanding Life-Saving Resources in Rural Texas

PRESS RELEASE: January 30, 2025

The Capital Area of Texas Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC) proudly announces that Blanco County Fire/EMS has joined the Regional Whole Blood Program. This milestone marks a significant step in expanding access to whole blood, a critical resource often scarce in rural areas.

“Today marks the end of a 5-year project and the beginning of a new era for Blanco County. As a community with no hospitals in our county, the ability to immediately transfuse blood in the field to critical patients with blood loss will massively improve care during our hour-long transport to the comprehensive facilities. We are grateful for the hard work of our staff on this project and our partnership with We Are Blood and CATRAC that made this possible for our community! ,” said Blanco EMS Chief Ben Oakley.

Whole blood plays a vital role in emergency care, dramatically improving survival rates for critically ill and injured patients. The success of this program is made possible through the generosity of dedicated blood donors and the commitment of regional blood providers across Texas.

Blanco County becomes the seventh EMS agency to join the program, reinforcing CATRAC’s mission to enhance emergency medical care across rural communities. With each new partner, we move closer to ensuring that life-saving whole blood is readily available when and where it is needed most.

About Blanco County

Blanco County Fire/EMS (Blanco County ESD 1 & Blanco County ESD 2) are the publicly funded 911 service providers of Blanco County, both of which provide Fire Suppression and Emergency Medical Services 24 hours a day to the 713 square miles of rural Blanco County.

Download Here: Blanco County Fire/EMS is Expanding Life-Saving Resources in Rural Texas