Empowering the Community to "Stop the Bleed"

The Stabler Department of Nursing and Wellspan Health are partnering with York City schools to introduce the “Stop the Bleed” program to students, families, and staff. The “Stop the Bleed” initiative was developed by the American College of Surgeons in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. The goal is to empower community members to respond quickly and confidently should they encounter an individual who becomes severely injured whether this injury occurs in a public or private setting. The focus is on recognition of serious wounds and control of bleeding through wound packing, wound pressure, and tourniquet application.

Dr. Kelli Masters, an assistant nursing professor at York College and trauma nurse at York Hospital, is spearheading the collaboration. She is currently working with a variety of agencies in and around York City to disseminate information about the program and plan appropriate education. A unique aspect of this project will be involvement of York College nursing students as community educators. While the priority of the collaboration is to provide life-saving skills, it will also enable students to interact with and provide relevant education to diverse groups within our community.

While this project is in the early planning stages, the need for implementation of “Stop the Bleed” programming within the community is clear. Dr. Masters states, “There is nothing more important than empowering members of our local community to care for one another. Our goal is to teach these skills to as many people as possible with the sincere hope that none of these skills will ever need to be utilized.”