In the wake of recent mass shootings, the Stop the Bleed program is gaining momentum. This is a project that aims to turn bystanders into first responders in case of an emergency.
As staff at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center say, quick thinking can make the difference between life and death.
“If you think about arterial bleeding, people can bleed out in minutes," said DeAnna Porter, registered nurse and Trauma Program Manager at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.
Stop the Bleed was born after the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 where 20 kids and six adults were killed.
“What the coroner in the case found was that most of those victims died not because of where they were shot but because of massive blood loss,” Porter explained. “Bleeding today is still the number one preventable cause of death in injury.”
Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been offering Stop the Bleed courses for about five years.
“Sierra Vista is our county’s only trauma center, so we provide this as outreach, free of cost to anyone,” said Katelyn Malo, registered nurse and Trauma Program’s Injury Prevention Coordinator at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
After recent mass incidents such as the deadly Alabama church shooting on Friday, June 17, 2022, or the school schooting in Uvalde, Texas where 19 students and 2 teachers were killed on May 24, 2022, staff at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center are calling on community members to add this skill to their toolbox.
“We connected with Templeton Unified School District and Shandon Unified School District to get those teachers trained prior to school starting again in the fall,” Malo added.
There are three basic steps taught in the 40-minute sessions.
“Just identifying the bleeding, and stopping the bleeding and keeping that pressure or that tourniquet on until EMS arrives,” Malo explained.
Experts will walk participants through the demo process of applying a tourniquet.
“You’re going to cinch down, […] just as hard as you can,” Porter said during a demo. “If you still see bleeding, you’re going to twist this rod until you see the bleeding stop.”
They also show you how to initially treat a deep cut.
“You’re going to fit as much gauze as you possibly can into the wound as deep as you can,” Malo said during a demo. “Once you feel no gauze will go in any further, you are going to put enough pressure to stop the bleeding and sometimes that is all your body weight.”
Classes are offered once a month at both Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and Twin Cities Community Hospital.
Another option, if you have a business or an interested group of 3 or more, a crew can go to your location free of cost to do the class.
For more information, you can call 805-546-7823 or you can email katelyn.malo@tenethealth.com
