[December 04, 2014]

Call to Action- Need for Universal Advanced Hemorrhage Control Legislation Needed to Put Bleeding Control Kits Next to AEDs

Stop the Bleeding Coalition (SBC), a non-profit Washington, D.C.-based organization made up of over 40 groups and individuals focused on saving lives, hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill today to call attention for the need of universal advanced bleeding control kits to be place alongside Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public places like schools and shopping centers.

The briefing called "The High Risk of Low Survivability - Stop the Bleeding & Save Lives in a Mass Casualty Incident," focused on the need for national legislation to help address the training, medical preparedness and planning in the event of a mass casualty incident and bleeding control.

"Events involving active shooters resulting in mass casualties have been on the rise in the U.S. since 2008," said Coalition Co-chairman Liz Powell. "Law enforcement have improved their tactics in responding to and contolling these events, but there remains an urgent need to improve on-the-scene medical treatment of the victims of these senseless attacks."

"In an active shooter situation, it takes time to get law enforcement and EMS into the scene," says Dr. Alex Eastman, Interim Chief of Trauma, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas and Lieutenant/Deputy Medical Director of the Dallas Police Department. "In cases like this, an injured person can bleed out in a manner of minutes. While first responders are working nationwide to make their provision of hemorrhage control more rapid and seamless, having readily-accessible bleeding control kits in places where people gather will help save lives."

Just as on-site AEDs are readily available to help save lives during cardiac arrest, the same level of preparedness needs to be available to help control bleeding until additional medical personnel can arrive, according to the SBC.

About Stop the Bleeding Coalition

The mission of the Stop the Bleeding Coalition is to show how quick access to life-saving, easy-to-use Bleeding Control Kits can save lives. Whether law enforcement, a layperson, or teacher in a school, one can administer immediate simple medical care to victims that stops hemorrhage with Bleeding Control Kits. The goals of SBC are to educate how immediate hemorrhage control can save lives, raise awareness among government, law enforcement, and public health officials and to promote legislation to help ensure law enforcement, schools, stadiums, malls and large-scale events have on-site Bleeding Control Kits and training to ensure the proper use of these tools in order to save lives.

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