Page 10 - JSOM Spring 2018

STOP THE BLEED CAMPAIGN National Stop the Bleed Day, 31 March 2018
ISR Innovator, Official Newsletter of the US Army National Stop the Bleed Day is a nationwide, free course on
Institute of Surgical Research the principles of bleeding control and providing first aid until
the arrival of emergency responders.
This issue highlights the Stop the Bleed initiative. Col (Dr)
Shawn Nessen, commander of the US Army Institute of Surgi- The program was commissioned by the White House follow-
cal Research and the Army Surgeon General Trauma Consul- ing the Sandy Hook disaster in Newtown, CT. A joint commit-
tant, has requested that all USAISR staff be trained to stop the tee of emergency responders, law enforcement, and physicians
bleed.
developed a national policy on increasing survivability follow-
ing mass-casualty events called the Hartford Consensus. The
“The USAISR efforts to control battlefield hemorrhage have consensus found that victims of trauma are susceptible to criti-
resulted in many saved lives among our wounded service mem- cal blood loss before first responders can reach the scene and
bers,” said Nessen. “Implementing the Stop the Bleed pro- that immediate bystander care is critical in preventing surviv-
gram, initiated by the White House, gives us an opportunity to able death, illustrated by the statistics below:
extend our leadership to the civilian sector. This program will
allow anyone trained in its techniques to manage hemorrhage • Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death for people
until help arrives.”
below age 46
• 35% of prehospital deaths are due to blood loss
• 80% of victims in a mass casualty event are transported
to the hospital by members of the public
• Death due to traumatic bleeding can occur in less than
5 minutes
• The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states
that emergency response should begin within 5 minutes
• National EMS Response times often exceed the NFPA
target times
• Of the 147,000 trauma deaths in 2014, 30,000 might
have survived with appropriate care, primarily control
of bleeding
The Stop the Bleed initiative has mutual involvement from
the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, the
American College of Surgeons, and the American College of
Emergency Physicians.

“The first phase of the getting staff trained to stop the bleed National Stop the Bleed Day is a grassroots initiative to raise
involved two things: outfitting ‘Stop the Bleed’ kits near every awareness for the official Stop the Bleed program. Our effort
AED (automated external defibrillator) stations throughout is currently supported by the American College of Surgeons
the institute’s two buildings, and conducting hands-on classes Committee on Trauma, Department of Homeland Security,
to train instructors who will be training the staff.” NAEMT, International Association of Fire Chiefs, Interna-
tional Association of EMS Chiefs, IAFF, Committee on Tacti-
cal Combat Casualty Care, Committee for Tactical Emergency
Casualty Care, and EMS.gov.

Please lend your support by sharing this information in your
office, or with local constituents that would like to learn this
important skill to potentially save the lives of others or even
themselves. In doing so, it will help us accomplish three goals:
1. Raise awareness for the program through all available means
2. Identify Stop the Bleed instructors who can deliver the ma-
terial on National Stop the Bleed Day
3. Partner with organizations that can offer space for classes
or donations of class materials, such as approved tourni-
quets and gauze.

Please contact Andrew D. Fisher, MPAS, PA-C, MS-2, chair-
man, National Stop the Bleed Day, https://www.stopthebleed
See more on the USAISR efforts on page 28. day.org/, for more details.

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