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Trip Report    

STOP THE BLEED® - EvergreenHealth Medical Center

Critical hands-on first aid training for Mountaineers activity leaders. "Stop The Bleed is as important as CPR training", according to Barb Jensen RN - manager of the EvergreenHealth trauma unit.

  • Road suitable for all vehicles

Participants from 4 Mountaineers branches and the Board of Directors assembled at EvergreenHealth Medical Center for formalized hands-on First Aid training known as Stop The Bleed. We had leaders from many club activities: Naturalist, Urban Walks, Hiking, Backpacking, Trail Running, Canyoning, Scrambling, Climbing, Photography, Sea Kayaking, Cross-country Skiing, Snowshoeing, and Stewardship.

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Barb Jensen RN - Manager, EvergreenHealth Trauma Services

The first part of the training involved a presentation and discussion on the importance of stopping bleeding. Key facts include:

  • Bleeding is leading cause of preventable death after injury.
  • Someone can bleed to death in as little as 3 minutes....before help arrives.
  • Bystanders will be the first providers of lifesaving care.
  • In an emergency, remember ABC
    • A: Alert - Call 911.
    • B: Bleeding - find the bleeding injury.
    • C: Compress - apply pressure to stop the bleed.
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Packing wounds and applying tourniquets
Aaron Leingang, Shyam Vijayaraghavan and Rachel Shafer

The second part of the training involved hands-on practice in packing wounds and applying tourniquets.

  • When packing a deep wound with uncontrolled bleeding, use sterile gauze or, if not available, any textile at your disposal.
    • Start from bottom of wound and pack until full.
    • Compress wound with hands. Get comfortable because you may be there a while.
    • If bleeding stops, do not stop compression until help arrives.
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Aaron Leingang - Hiking and Stewardship Leader - applying a tourniquet
  • When compression does not stop the bleed, apply a tourniquet.
    • Apply tourniquet 2-3 inches above the wound, away from any bony area or joint.
    • Tighten until bleeding stops. More than likely will be painful for victim.
    • Don't remove until help arrives.
  • In one published study, the non-tourniquet group had 6x greater chance of death over those who recieved a tourniquet.
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Brad Near - Board of Directors - demonstrating reaction to proper tourniquet application.

The Hartford Consensus are specific recommendations and a call to action to maxmimize the chance that no one dies from uncontrolled bleeding. Among other things, a recommendation was made to add EMS to SWAT teams for immediate medical assistance in active shooter events. One goal of the Hartford Consensus is to empower the public to provide emergency care. Hence, the American College of Surgeons created the Stop The Bleed Program.

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Laetitia Gerard - Trail Run Leader - with her Stop The Bleed certificate.

Stop The Bleed Offical Site

STOP THE BLEED 25-MINUTE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE TRAINING

An enormous thank you from The Mountaineers to Barb Jensen and her team!

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Stop The Bleed Instructors at EvergreenHealth
 

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Liz Kranz
Liz Kranz says:
Oct 05, 2023 09:29 PM

Excellent class. I hope to never encounter the kinds of injuries we addressed in class, but I feel much more prepared to deal with them if I do. The hands-on practice was particularly valuable. Thanks to everyone who helped make this class available.