ACS Bulletin - June 2017

an hour during the next faculty development or continuing education session was designated for hemorrhage control training.

With some training sessions scheduled, I applied for funding from the Louis S. and Molly B. Wolk Foundation, a local philanthropic organization, which awarded a $10,000 grant to launch the project in February 2017. To facilitate fundraising, I partnered with the Jewish Federation, a 501(c)( 3) organization, to create a dedicated account for this project, so that contributions to the project would be tax deductible. Two additional grant applications were under review at press time.

Staff of the Kessler Trauma Center at the University of Rochester embraced the project and volunteered to help run the hands-on portion of the training sessions. They also supplied the training tourniquets and the practice models. As the project gained momentum, the Kessler team trained additional volunteer participants, including residents, advanced practice providers, and faculty from the University of Rochester’s departments of surgery and emergency medicine.

The resources available at bleedingcontrol.org made it easy to run the training sessions. The prepared lecture requires approximately 25 minutes to present and is succinct, practical, and effective. It is followed by a hands-on component during which participants interact directly with trained instructor volunteers to practice applying direct pressure, packing wounds, and using tourniquets.

Attendees were engaged, interested, and made a number of interesting comments, such as, “But I thought that bleeding from an artery cannot be stopped,” and, “If there is a bleeding wound with glass in it, should I try to press around the glass, or remove it first and then press?” Questions like this demonstrate the astounding lack of relevant knowledge among some members of the general public and highlight the importance of this training. Others

RESPONSE TO ROCHESTER’S STOP THE BLEED TRAINING PROGRAM

Our Hillel team is incredibly appreciative of the Stop the Bleed program and the trainers for this informative and much-needed training. My teachers and staff feel better prepared, logistically and emotionally, to provide highly effective responses in full and smaller scale situations involving bleeding and wound care. As a school principal, the physical and emotional safety of our children and staff is paramount to every professional thought that I have and decision that I make. This hands-on and informative training provided my school’s team the information and experiences necessary to proactively protect and potentially save the lives of our children and community members. As the school’s leader, I know that I feel much more secure in our team’s ability to ensure that we are doing and will continue to do our very best for our children because of this highly effective training experience.

Tracie Glazer, head of school, Hillel Community Day School, Rochester

Stop the Bleed is a deeply impactful program.

Giving our community members the opportunity to learn how to save lives is very empowering. The program provided exceptional training to our staff and volunteers. All participants commented after the training that they felt they could truly make a difference in a life-threatening emergency and were grateful for the learning opportunity. Our federation believes in the concept that when you save one life it is as if you have saved the world. This program is the quintessential example of that philosophy and allows us to put our beliefs into practical action.