National Campaign Empowers Public to Save Lives
A new campaign called “Stop The Bleed” is striving to educate the general public on how to save a life during events such as a mass shooting or other incidents involving trauma. Marshfield Fire & Rescue Department (MFRD) is currently in the process of training its staff to become “Stop The Bleed” educators, as well as looking at fundraising opportunities for “Stop The Bleed” kits to place in areas schools.
Initiated by a federal interagency workgroup convened by the National Security Council Staff, the purpose of the “Stop The Bleed” campaign is to build national resilience by better preparing the public to save lives by raising awareness of basic actions to stop life threatening bleeding following everyday emergencies and man-made and natural disasters.
“This has just taken shape on a national level,” said Nate McNamara. “A lot of departments are just starting to get involved. It’s a very valuable program.”
Similar to CPR programs, once trained as instructors Marshfield Fire & Rescue staff will be able to host classes to train the public in Stop The Bleed techniques. When applied immediately, just like with CPR compressions, these techniques can save lives.
“This is a national push and the goal is to get every single person in the country trained in stop the bleed,” said Steve Bakos, Deputy Chief of EMS, adding that Marshfield Clinic is also involved in the program.
If shot, a person has a 66% chance of bleeding out, and this can happen in less than five minutes. Though department personnel have advanced equipment and skills for treating gunshot wounds, the average person, when properly trained through Stop The Bleed, can make a significant difference in whether a person lives or dies.
“Bottom line- when you have a trauma like that, bleeding is the number one killer,” said Bakos. “We’re here, but in the time it takes us to respond, people can die. As many people as we can get trained, with a little bit of equipment, people on scene can stop bleeding.”
Bakos said that, once trained, MFRD staff will host public classes, as well as training sessions for schools and businesses. Scott Owen, Fire Chief indicated the department is also in the infancy stages of evaluating fundraising efforts to purchase Stop The Bleed kits that will be placed in all area schools (public, private, the UW-Marshfield/Wood County, and Mid-State Technical College) as well as other locations/facilities throughout the community for use by those who have been trained if ever needed.
“To have personnel at the school trained in this stuff, it’s going to give them a better chance of survival,” said Firefighter/Paramedic Nate McNamara, who is currently researching various kit options to find the best one for the Marshfield community. Containing tools such as tourniquets, trauma bandages, combat gauze, halo seals, and other basic safety components such as gloves and trauma shears, each main kit will include several smaller kits, which can be easily removed and dispersed to those who need it. The plan is to hang the kit next to AED’s in buildings for easy access.
Once it is determined which kit/supplies are best for Marshfield to adopt, the MFRD will be able to provide potential donors with more accurate costs. “We will be looking to see if there are individuals or businesses that would sponsor a kit or a school,” said McNamara, adding that the department is not able to use their budget to purchase the kits and will instead depend on donations.
He hopes to have the kits sooner rather than later, for peace of mind.
“I hope the kits sit there and collect dust, but in the event they need to be used, we want them there and ready to go,” he said. “I don’t want to be sitting here and thinking ‘it’s never going to happen here’ and not be prepared.”
Though just starting the “Stop The Bleed” campaign locally, McNamara said he wants the public to know that Marshfield Fire & Rescue recognizes there is a need and are doing something to help. Owen said “it is the hope of the department to raise enough funds locally to purchase these kits and provide this life saving training to anyone who wants to learn it. We hope the public (students, teachers, parents, etc.) never need to use these kits but, as Nate said, we want the kits available and ready-to-go.”
“This is not just a Marshfield Fire thing, this is a community thing. This is about our kids,” he said. “ If there’s anyone that wants to help out, please contact us. I think there are a lot of people sitting around at home wondering what can they do to help. This program can save lives. If you can have faculty, janitors, teachers trained in this, there could be a dozen lives saved before we are even halfway to the scene.”
To learn more, contact Marshfield Fire & Rescue at 715-486-2094.
