“The No. 1 cause of preventable death in trauma is bleeding,” said Dr. James Dunne, chief of trauma services at Memorial Health. “If patients don’t get transported to definitive care in time, they can easily bleed to death at the scene. We want to provide our EMS and police officers with resources to be able to hopefully stop that bleeding, or at least slow it down, to buy that individual time to get to definitive care.”
Memorial Health donated 518 bleed control kits to the Savannah Police Department to help officers provide potentially life-saving medical aid at the scene of a traumatic injury. The kit contains tourniquets, packing material and other supplies needed to control bleeding.
The trauma team at Parker’s Emergency & Trauma Center at Memorial Health University Medical Center began the hour-long training with officers this morning. During the course, officers learned about the content of the kit and got hands-on practice with their co-workers. Officers trained in the well-lit classroom as well as in the dark to ensure they are prepared for all lighting conditions.
In situations, like shootings, EMS often cannot enter the scene until it has been deemed safe by officers. The few minutes that process may take could make the difference between life and death for someone who is bleeding. The kit gives the officers the tools they need to make that difference.
“We want to thank Memorial Health for the training and the bleed control kits,” said Assistant Chief Robert Gavin. “We know these kits can make a difference in numerous critical incidents where our officers are the first on the scene. It all comes down to saving lives. That’s our goal every day and these kits will only enhance our ability to do that. It’s another tool in our tool kit.”
Training will continue through Wednesday. Officers leave the training with their kits ready to use in the field.