National Stop the Bleed Day!

May 22nd is National “Stop the Bleed” Day!

STOP THE BLEED® is the result of a collaborative effort led by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) and the ACS COT EMS Subcommittee to bring knowledge of bleeding control to the public.

This collaborative effort began in 2012. After tourniquets and tourniquet training were widely adopted by the military, their use during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts was reviewed in and a clear survival benefit was identified. Following this data, the ACS COT EMS Subcommittee completed an additional study that demonstrated similar benefits to the introduction of tourniquet application amongst the lay public and further introduced direct pressure and wound packing to the list of simple but effective skills that could be used to control bleeding in an emergency situation.

Since then, the STOP THE BLEED® program has continued to grow and be adapted as the ACS and medical providers nationwide continue to witness or experience unexpected violence and injuries in their daily lives—on the highway, in the workplace, at schools, and in other public places where everyone should be able to gather with an expectation of safety. You will notice at large scale venues, sporting events, airports and other public spaces that where the AED is located, there is now typically a “bleeding control station” as well. You will even notice that these kits are located in the lobbies at CRMH and the community care clinic at CRCH.

As the regions only Level 1 Trauma Center, Carilion Clinic and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital provides STOP THE BLEED® courses throughout the community in schools, churches, EMS agencies, in partnerships with community and faith-based organizations, and at health fairs throughout the region.

In the last year, we have trained over 700 students, healthcare professionals, and community partners to know how to help in the event they or someone they know experiences life threatening bleeding.

If you or a community organization are interested in receiving this training, please contact trauma services at traumaoutreach@carilionclinic.org