Here is the activity of one just one Level 3 Trauma Center to promote Stop the Bleed and AB 2260 and its prior versions in their community
MarinHealth Medical Center is an American College of Surgeons verified level III trauma center with 24/7 Neurosurgical capabilities. In 2018, the hospital saw approximately 900 injured trauma patients. As part of our Injury Prevention Program we adopted the Stop the Bleed campaign. Stop the Bleed is a nationwide federal campaign to train and empower individuals to act quickly and save lives. The campaign is a result of work done by a collaborative committee which included representation from the Department of Homeland Security, American College of Surgeons, and the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. Recognizing the number of individuals whose lives have been cut short due to blood loss in recent tragic mass-casualty incidents, the committee developed and published recommendations known as the Hartford Consensus. These recommendations have led to initiating the nationwide Stop the Bleed campaign.
On April 18, 2017 members of MarinHealth Trauma Services provided local and Statewide Elected officials with information about trauma care and ‘Stop the Bleed.’
Meaningful involvement in state legislation included speaking in support of Assembly Bill 909 at the Assembly Judiciary Committee, where it passed and moves on next to Assembly Appropriations. This bill would require the entity responsible for managing a building, facility, and tenants of any occupied structure that is currently required to have an automated external defibrillator on the premises (or that is constructed after January 1, 2018), to maintain a trauma kit on the premises. The entity will be required to comply with certain requirements, such as periodically inspecting and replacing the contents of a trauma kit, restocking the trauma kit after each use, and notifying tenants of the building or structure of the location of the trauma kit. The bill would exempt a person or entity that acquires and places a trauma kit for emergency care from liability for civil damages resulting from any acts or omissions in the rendering of emergency care if those requirements have been met.
After the successful passage of Assembly Bill 909 out of committee, members of MarinHealth Trauma Services worked with the American College of Surgeons and other Bay Area surgeons to teach Stop the Bleed to the general public. We provided vital skills in the initial response to stop uncontrolled bleeding in emergency situations, distributed trauma kits, and certified a number of individuals.
MarinHealth Medical Center partnered with the Marin County Emergency Services Agency to bring Stop the Bleed to Marin County Schools. After our partnership, the MarinHealth Trauma Surgeons, Orthopedic Surgeons and Neurosurgeons were all trained.
Our early efforts focused on Elementary Schools and Middle Schools. As word spread, the local Boy Scout troops, and Girl Scout troops reached out and requested that their troops learn the vital skill.
In 2018, we continued to expand our program and packaged Stop the Bleed with Hands Only CPR. In June 2018, we hosted our first Stop the Bleed and Hands only CPR event in Marin County. We set up booths strategically in Marin County based on locations of cardiac arrests and penetrating injury. We were able to teach over 1,300 residents of Marin County.
To help fund our efforts, hospitals from Marin, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma County partnered together and in 2018 was awarded $51, 756 by Urban Areas Security Initiative to purchase Stop the Bleed kits. Each county was given the appropriate amount of kits based on population; 1kit for every 1,355 people. In 2019, the funding was available to purchase the kits. In Marin County our goal was to provide a kit to every High School classroom. Additional funding secured from Marin County Sheriffs Department and Marin County Survivors Event. We partnered with the Marin County Office of Education and in order to educate all high schools, and give a consistent message an instructional video was created. Each teacher with a kit was required to watch the video. In late 2019, MarinHealth Medical Center Athletic Directors were all trained in Stop the Bleed and are working with local sports teams to train athletic coaches, school nurses and teachers.
Going forward, our 2020 goal is to receive funding to allow for 1 kit for every middle school classroom. MarinHealth Trauma Services is very active in expanding awareness of injury prevention and the role of trauma systems in its treatment. ACS Northern California Chapter Past President Dr. John Maa is very active in supporting public policy initiatives and advocating both the local and state level for legislative efforts aimed at trauma prevention; Stop the Bleed, and firearm safety.