Iowans who are tired of feeling like there’s nothing they can do after hearing about crime rampages and disasters are encouraged to take a free, hour-long course to learn how to respond to severe bleeding emergencies.
Registered Nurse Kelly Hilsabeck, a trauma injury prevention coordinator at Gundersen Health, says the program called Stop The Bleed is designed for everyday people with no background in health care.
RN Kelly Hilsabeck (Gundersen photo)
“The ultimate goal of Stop The Bleed is to save more lives, so in order to do that, we really need as many members of our communities trained as possible,” Hilsabeck says. “We know that timely intervention in a bleeding emergency is crucial. Depending on an injury, severe bleeding can be fatal in less than five minutes.”
Studies find the average national EMS response time is between seven and ten minutes, so it’s vital to have people ready to jump in and help until professionals arrive.
“We often hear about big events in the media like mass shootings, but it’s actually a lot more common to run into this type of emergency in our daily lives,” she says, “whether that’s you encountering a motor vehicle crash or a motorcycle crash, or even around your home if someone has a severe fall or a kitchen injury or even in the workplace, especially if you work in a high-risk job.”
Hilsabeck says the website StopTheBleed.org offers a “Find a Course” tool that will show how to locate the closest free class. The site also offers specialized first aid kits for your home, car and workplace.
“I think it’s just important to recognize that bleeding emergencies can happen anywhere, unexpectedly in our daily lives,” she says, “so it’s really important to have a bystander trained with the right skills that can really make a difference between life and death.”
Courses are being offered in Iowa this month in Fairfax and Sergeant Bluff, with more classes being added routinely.
Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.