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Posted: 02/06/18
Stop The Bleed program provides training and tourniquet kits to Arkansas schools
Little Rock, Ark. – The Arkansas Stop the Bleed program is providing 400 tourniquet units to Arkansas schools that have participated in the Stop the Bleed training program through a grant from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). Each of the tourniquet units being provided to schools contains five individual kits. To date, over 300 Arkansas schools have been trained and are receiving tourniquet units.
“Stop the Bleed” is a national campaign that provides the public with proper bleeding control techniques, including how to use their hands, dressings and tourniquets. The program trains bystanders to be immediate volunteer responders and gives them the skills to stop uncontrolled bleeding in emergency situations in order to save lives until professional responders arrive.
“Trauma happens every day,” said Clayton Goddard, MEMS Special Operations Supervisor. “We see it from car accidents, farm accidents, hunting accidents, and injuries at home or at school. The first five minutes after a trauma are crucial, and people already on the scene can make a big difference in someone’s life if they are trained in these techniques.”
Arkansas is leading the nation in the training of law enforcement, school personnel, and others in Stop the Bleed techniques. The Stop the Bleed course and kits represent the latest in prehospital trauma care and are approved and endorsed by the American College of Surgeons. Participants are taught how to use tourniquets properly, how to improvise a tourniquet if needed, and how to train others in these techniques. The corresponding tourniquet kits contain an approved tourniquet, gloves, hemostatic gauze, a pressure dressing, a marker and trauma shears.
“Stop the Bleed has been proven to save lives, and we are pleased to be part of the effort to train as many Arkansans as possible in this program,” said Dr. Nathaniel Smith, ADH Director and State Health Officer. “Trauma is the number one cause of death for Arkansans between the ages of one and 45. This program empowers people to act when they find themselves in the role of first responder and is an important way to decrease the number of deaths from trauma.”
ADH and Stop the Bleed have partnered with the Arkansas Department of Education, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children’s, MEMS, and other stakeholders to provide this program. The Stop the Bleed training will be offered to all Arkansas Legislators during the upcoming fiscal session on February 28. If your organization is interested in receiving the training, contact your local law enforcement or emergency services.
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