What Is The STOP THE BLEED® Program?
What is STOP THE BLEED®?
What Do they Hope To Achieve?
Here at True Rescue, we are passionate about supporting national campaigns to stop life-threatening bleeding. One program you might have heard about is STOP THE BLEED®. Today we’re going to share everything you need to know about this program and what they hope to achieve over the upcoming years.
Introducing STOP THE BLEED®
The STOP THE BLEED® program is part of the American College of Surgeons’ efforts to improve care for injured individuals within our society. They work on a local, regional, national, and international level to help advance programs that will help educate people and improve the care given to injured patients. This campaign came about as part of a federal interagency workshop which was held by the National Security Council Staff. There were many concerns leading up to the formation of STOP THE BLEED® about the lack of knowledge regarding life-threatening bleeding. The aim of the campaign is to build national resilience to help save a life. When more of us know the basic actions that are needed after an emergency and what we can do to prepare for one, we’ll hopefully see a decline in the number of lives lost due to bleeding.
The Goals of STOP THE BLEED®
Bleeding can occur following everyday accidents, natural disasters, and man-made disasters. While military medicine has progressed over the years and more research has been undertaken on hemorrhage control during both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, this information now needs to be shared with the general public. STOP THE BLEED® hopes to make more people aware of the risks of severe bleeding so that we see fewer lives lost to this condition in the future. It’s something our team here at True Rescue is also incredibly passionate about, and we are proud to support this education movement in the US as well.
For people who are looking to further their education, STOP THE BLEED® offers short courses of just 90 minutes in length. They start with a formal presentation before moving on to a hands-on practice to showcase how to pack a wound and stop bleeding. These courses are usually offered free of charge, thanks to the volunteers that work with their organization. Courses take place throughout the country, and they are constantly adding new dates to the schedules. Due to the recent pandemic, they’ve also added the lecture part of the course as a virtual option. You would still have to attend an in-person course to complete the practical part, but it’s a great way to introduce yourself to their mission.
To date, they’ve worked with 1.5 million people worldwide, who now know how to STOP THE BLEED® thanks to their courses. Their goal is to get this number up to 200 million people. They believe that the more the general public is equipped to deal with traumatic injuries and incidents, the more likely we’ll see fewer deaths as a result of severe bleeding. You never know when you might be the witness to an accident, which is why we also recommend looking at our True Rescue products. The more we prepare for any type of eventuality in life, the easier it will be to respond quickly in the future should an emergency occur. By raising awareness and teaching the public how to take three quick actions, we’ll be more likely to save lives in the future.
The Change STOP THE BLEED® Hopes to Achieve
Stop The Bleed’s program was heavily influenced by events that you may have seen in the news over the years. Both military casualties and other tragedies closer to home resulted in the formation of STOP THE BLEED®. The 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was one of the events which caused people to evaluate the response to this type of incident. It was clear that very few people knew how to increase the chance of survival after severe bleeding, and so STOP THE BLEED® aims to help reduce the chance of such tragedies in the future.
The organization has learned a lot from the military over the years. They believe in a simple three-step process which includes applying direct pressure, packing the wound to control the bleeding, and then applying a tourniquet. By breaking down this process into three simple steps, STOP THE BLEED® hopes to make this easier for people to remember in the future. Many people have overlooked the use of tourniquets in the past, but recently, it’s become clear they are one of the best tools to help someone survive when bleeding.
STOP THE BLEED® hopes to empower everyone to become more aware of the role they can play in saving a life. A bystander could be the one who helps someone to survive after a fatal incident if only they have the tools and education to feel confident to take on this role. With their courses and the resources they offer to everyone online, we can all start to learn more about life-saving measures we can take to control bleeding. Their curriculum has been created with the assistance of professionals throughout the medical field and is easy for anyone to grasp within just a short 90-minute course. It’s something we highly recommend anyone looks into, no matter where you live or what type of job you currently do. You never know when these skills could come in handy, or you could be the one to save someone’s life.
As you can see, STOP THE BLEED® is an incredible organization that is striving to increase the general public’s knowledge about helping control severe bleeding emergencies. Here at True Rescue, we offer Bleeding Control Kits & Accessories, which can help support you with this task. It offers all of the tools you would need in an emergency and is ideal for keeping in your workplace or car. You never know when you might find yourself in a situation where you could help to save someone’s life, and our team at True Rescue is here to offer you all of the equipment you need to make a difference
