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By Miriam Raftery
December 13, 2018 (San Diego) - “At the urging of ER doctors, first-responders and others, the county has started installing bleeding control kits at its facilities,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob announced on Facebook. “Medical experts say the kits are critical in boosting survival rates after a traumatic event. I want to thank my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors for supporting this initiative.”
According to a UCSD San Diego School of Medicine website article titled “Stop the Bleed-Stop the Need,” recent mass shooting events in Thousand Oaks and Pittsburgh demonstrated the need for a public health approach to firearms injury.
“At both events, bystanders and first responders were able to stop some victims from exsanguination using their "Stop the Bleed" (STB) training,” the UCSD site states. “The Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns and Acute Care Surgery has been a leader in the national STB campaign since its launch in 2016. The Division has trained more than 2,000 UC San Diego Health employees and members of the public in how to recognize and stop life-threatening bleeding with direct pressure, tourniquets and wound packing.”
The Division has also assisted in the recent placement of Public Access "Stop the Bleed" kits at San Diego International Lindbergh Airport, the San Diego Convention Center as well as all 16 entrance lobbies at UC San Diego Health. Currently the Division is assisting in the training of County of San Diego personnel in anticipation of an ordinance that will place STB public access kits at all County public buildings.
The effort is part of a national campaign brought about by surgeons including gun owners to provide a public health approach to reduce deaths from gun violence. “We hope all surgeons and their allies can work together to `Stop the Bleed’ and `Stop the Need,’” the UCSD School of Medicine site concludes.
Ultimately, The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and ACS Committee on Trauma aspires to train every American in basic bleeding control techniques and to work toward placing bleeding control kits in every public venueincluding schools, community centers, places of worship, and stadiums.
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