Stop the Bleed
You have the ability to save a life. With training, anyone can act as an immediate responder and control life-threatening bleeding after an injury.
Severe bleeding emergencies can result in death in as little as three minutes.
“That’s why everyday members of the public should know how to act quickly and decisively when a severe bleed happens,” says nurse Jada Barton, a long-time nurse with University of Vermont Medical Center’s emergency department. “Having that training can buy valuable time for EMS to arrive, and it can truly mean the difference between life and death.”
UVM Medical Center’s Trauma Service serves as the lead site for Vermont’s Stop the Bleed program, part of a national campaign led by the American College of Surgeons. The free, life-saving training initiative is designed to turn bystanders into immediate responders capable of saving lives in critical moments. As Vermont’s only Level 1 Adult and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, the training is central to the organization’s injury prevention mission.
Barton is part of a diverse team of Stop the Bleed instructors — one which includes both clinical and non-clinical staff — that teaches participants how to recognize life-threatening bleeding, apply direct pressure, pack wounds and correctly use tourniquets.
Over the past eight years, the program has reached community members across a wide range of settings, including meat processing facilities, sports car garages, schools, breweries, farms and other local venues. All told, Barton and her colleagues from UVM Medical Center have helped to train more than 8,000 people, dramatically expanding the number of individuals equipped with essential bleeding-control skills and strengthening overall public safety.
The training, which is free to participants, continues to be exceptionally well received by the community, with participants expressing strong appreciation for both its relevance and its hands-on and engaging format.
If you are interested in hosting a Stop the Bleed training in your community, email bleedingcontrol@uvmhealth.org.
I wanted to reach out to share our appreciation in having the opportunity of Jada and Dan coming out to our farm and training us. They were both incredibly knowledgeable, engaging and kind with our crew and community. In addition, they patiently answered ALL of my 8-year-old’s questions and included him in the training as if he was one of the adults. To say we are impressed and so grateful is an understatement!
