A small machine—funded by proceeds from Rev—has been making a big difference for critical care patients.

A thromboelastographic machine (TEG) rapidly analyzes a small blood sample to measure a patient’s ability to clot. When treating patients who have lost (or are losing) a lot of blood, doctors and nurses need to know exactly how a patient’s body will react.

Ashley McPheron knows a TEG machine was crucial to her survival. McPheron arrived at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital after a terrible car wreck; she was a passenger, and the driver died. Doctors were not sure she would survive. (Watch Ashley’s dramatic story.) 

“We were able to give Ashley exactly what her body needed, no more, no less,” said Jill Castor, RN and manager of trauma services at IU Health Methodist. “When you have sick patients like Ashley who have a lot of issues going on, being able to run this TEG means a matter of life and death.” Normally, a TEG is used on a patient in the first 15 minutes after they arrive in the trauma center. For McPheron, the TEG was used during multiple surgeries and the administration of various blood products. 

McPheron was an extreme case because of the severity of her injuries, but Castor points out that TEG machines are important to all critical care patients. “We average 87 high level activation traumas per month,” she said. “That means more than 1,000 patients every year are treated more effectively.”

Rev, which takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway every May, is the signature event for IU Health Foundation. Rev proceeds support IU Health trauma and critical care programs statewide, often by funding equipment like TEG machines. 

For information on how you can support critical care or address healthcare issues in your own community, visit iuhealthfoundation.org. And mark your calendars for next year’s Rev on May 4, 2019!