CINCINNATI (WKRC) - There is a new program coming soon to a school or community center near you that is now part of local effort to save lives.
The program is called “Stop the Bleed.” It is a grassroots effort that is now getting big support because it can save lives.
“Minutes count, when there's severe bleeding you can lose blood in a matter of seconds, and no matter what anybody tries to do, it won't help, and you could eventually die,” said Danielle Stiner, an EMS Coordinator for St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
Medical specialists with Homeland Security say a person bleeding can die from blood loss in five minutes.
So Elizabeth is part of a team going into area schools and community centers teaching the three steps of “Stop the Bleed.”
Step one is to apply pressure.
“You want to hold pressure as hard as you can as tight as you can,” said Elizabeth.
Step two is to apply a dressing and pressure if possible.
“So you could take a shirt, bundle it up, and apply pressure,” said Elizabeth.
And step three is to apply a tourniquet. Any band, such as a belt, will do.
“So if his wound was right here [points to spot on volunteer’s arm], you would take the belt and go as high up on the arm as you can and you would clinch it down as hard as you could, and loop it through so it stays put looking for that bleeding to stop completely,” said Elizabeth.
The goal of the program is to have professional tourniquets available as part of kits similar to first aid kits.
While the mass shooting in Las Vegas was extreme in terms of the number of people injured in one place, the type of injury is not, according to the National Academies of Science Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under age of 46
If you are interested in learning more about the “Stop the Bleed” you can find a link to the Homeland Security site which describes it in greater detail here.
