Horrific headlines of devastating mass injuries seem to be commonplace these days. That’s why Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, along with the American College of Surgeons and Department of Homeland Security are teaming up to provide a program to make sure our communities are better prepared. It’s called, Stop the Bleed.
“Stop the Bleed is a program which was created to help teach community members to respond to emergent medical events like hemorrhage control,” explains Dynette Rombough, RN, BSN, CPEN, Trauma Program Manager at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center.
Motivated by the 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, organizations realized precious moments between the time a catastrophic event occurred and the time professional first responders arrived were being lost. The group soon surmised, empowering the civilian bystander with skills and basic tools to stop uncontrolled bleeding in an emergency situation, could save lives.
Over the last several months, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center has been hosting this free program in an effort to empower and educate the community. The hope is – if they come across an emergency situation they would be able to act and render aid until emergency personnel could arrive.
This one-time, 90-minute class is free and open to the public. Since there are some gory situations & mature subject matter, it may not ideal for children or young teens. Sessions are still available for November 1st & 15th and December 6th & 20th. They will be held at the Hylton Education Center at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center.
If you’d like to host a Stop the Bleed event for your organization (larger than 10 people), please submit a request, here.
