Stop the Bleed program saves lives
By Brandy Mai
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new program aimed at saving lives by stopping life-threatening bleeding made its way through Georgia schools during the 2017-2018 school year . The Stop the Bleed program is a recent addition to the courses taught in schools across the state , but it has already saved lives through training and delivery of bleeding kits .
In early 2017 , the Georgia Trauma Commission along with the Georgia Trauma Foundation , Georgia Society of the American College of Surgeons and the Georgia Committee on Trauma successfully lobbied lawmakers and collaboratively launched the nationwide Stop the Bleed campaign in Georgia . According to their website , Stop the Bleed “ puts knowledge gained by first responders and our military into the hands of the public to help save lives by stopping uncontrolled bleeding in emergency situations .”
“ This national initiative was started after the tragedy at Sandy Hook ,” explained Billy Kunkle , Trauma System Planner with the Georgia Trauma Commission . “ It was learned that many lives could be saved in such tragic situations if bleeding could be controlled on those who are injured .”
The first phase of the campaign includes the school response program , which is funded by the Georgia General Assembly to equip all Georgia public schools with kits and train school staff on how to control bleeding . These kits include a tourniquet , wound packing materials and gloves to prevent exposure .
The school response program is designed to enable teachers , nurses and staff to render immediate , potentially life-saving medical aid to injured students or coworkers while awaiting the arrival of professional responders .
“ We received the funding in April 2017 and began teaching in the schools at the start of the 2017- 2018 school year ,” said Kunkle . “ As of the middle of May , we ’ ve trained approximately 34,000 school personnel and delivered nearly 950 kits . In one school year , we trained 90 percent of the public schools statewide .”
Kunkle credits instructors from around the state for training so many personnel in one school year . That instruction is even credited with saving two lives . “ We had a case out of Cummings of a child injured on a playground . Forsyth County Fire delivered kits to the school the day before , and the school nurse used one to save the child who had a life-threatening bleed ,” he said .
“ This course gives people the basic knowledge , understanding and tools to save a life ,” said Kerry Futch , a Stop the Bleed instructor and field coordinator for Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency . Futch first learned about the program at the school safety conference last summer and began teaching it shortly afterward based on his emergency medical technician background .
Joshua Bain , GEMA / HS homeland security coordinator for Area 5 , uses a training arm to demonstrate applying pressure to a life-threatening bleed .
While schools are the first phase of the program , others across the state are also receiving the training . “ The program has assisted with training every Savannah police officer ,” said Futch .
Improving public awareness about how to stop severe bleeding can be the difference between life and death for an injured person , and the Stop the Bleed program is working to train all schools to increase the chances of saving a student ’ s life .
Healthcare providers , including physicians , nurses , paramedics , EMTs and first responders are all eligible to teach the course . For more information on the program or to get involved in other ways , visit stopthebleedgeorgia . org .
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