STOP THE BLEED Offers Life-Saving Skills

With an eye toward enhancing community safety and preparedness, Mary Greeley Medical Center has introduced the STOP THE BLEED program to local organizations—with an initial emphasis on partnering with schools—aiming to equip participants with life-saving skills in case of emergencies.

The STOP THE BLEED program, launched by Mary Greeley last year, looks to empower individuals to effectively respond to traumatic bleeding incidents, which are often the leading cause of preventable death in trauma cases.

Dustin Draisey, Clinical Resource Paramedic at Mary Greeley, says this type of community education is a literal lifesaver.

"Trauma is an epidemic, not just in the US, but in our world,” he says. “STOP THE BLEED is like the effort to increase public access to AEDs to ensure rapid treatment for those experiencing a heart attack. Both target limiting preventable deaths by increasing access to tools and education for the general public."

Funded by the Mary Greeley Foundation, the program provides free training sessions to community groups, including schools and churches, and at public events. Participants learn crucial techniques like applying tourniquets, packing wounds, and controlling life-threatening bleeding, all within a one-hour session.

"We are focused on getting out there in our community, especially the schools, to teach them this program and empower them to make a difference in the event they encounter a traumatic situation," Draisey says. Draisey and Tricia Colman, MSN, RN, CEN, Trauma Program Coordinator at Mary Greeley, provide the Stop the Bleed training. "Introducing the steps to effectively stop a traumatic bleed is all about getting the general public comfortable and aware of what to do before the first responders arrive in the event that something should happen."

The foundation's support has enabled Mary Greeley to expand the program's reach and provide essential resources to participating organizations.

"The support from the Foundation makes this all possible,” Colman says. “The Foundation has shown that it is committed to helping this community and making it as safe a place as it can be.” 

Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing appreciation for the valuable skills acquired during the training sessions. 

Eileen Patterson, RN, from Nevada Schools, commended the program's practicality and relevance.

"We felt this was important and dedicated a teacher workday for training with our teachers and staff from Central Elementary and Nevada Middle/High School,” Patterson says. “Providing our team the tools and knowledge available through the Stop the Bleed program is just one more way we are preparing and educating our staff and employees to serve students."

The experience was similar at Ballard High School in Huxley.

“We were very happy with the Stop the Bleed training provided by MGMC,” says Alex Blum, RN, Ballard High School Nurse. “It created great conversation amongst our school buildings, helped create Crisis Teams, and led to the purchase of Bleeding Control Kits in all of our buildings.”

In the coming months, Colman says, Mary Greeley plans to continue offering Stop the Bleed training to interested organizations, ensuring ongoing community readiness and safety.

"As long as people want to learn about it,” she says, “we'll continue to offer it."