After last years’ success with AB 2260 which added public Stop the Bleed trauma kits to new public buildings in California, new bills that will extend the reach of Stop the Bleed in our State.
These bills are AB 70, AB 71 and SB 868.
AB 70 (Rodriguez) extends the reach of AB 2260 by adding public Stop the Bleed kits to large buildings undergoing $100,000 of more renovations.
AB 71 (Rodriguez) introduces Stop the Bleed training into school curriculums so that stop the bleed techniques for highly effective first aid for heavy bleeding can be taught to California students. This is similar to the existing law that allows CPR training for high school students and take a high school health class.
SB 868 (Wilks) would provide every California school classroom with a Stop the Bleed kit. The presence of a Stop the Bleed kit in a California classroom has already been credited with saving the life of a student who was shot in an extremity during a school shooting.
if you would like to add your support to any of these bills, you can send a letter to legislators that will become part of the record. All three of these bills have been passing without opposition with bipartisan support in both chambers of our assembly.
Go to this website to submit your letter:
https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/
If you are looking for language to write you own letter, such as for an organization, look at the draft examples below, which you may copy, edit and paste:
DRAFT LETTER to Support AB 70:
Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez
Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5250
P.O. Box 942849-0053;
Sacramento, California 95814
(916) 319-2053
Dear Assemblymember Rodriguez,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we wish to express our strongest support for Assembly Bill 70 –Emergency Response: Trauma Kits. Individuals with a training in basic first aid can treat minor injuries and provide comfort to the injured.
More advance training such as CPR and on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) provide individuals with the knowledge and techniques to respond when a person has stopped breathing or is having cardiac arrest. Individuals with these types of trainings have come to expect access to medical resources and tools such as first aid kits and AEDs in public places and buildings when they are needed.
The STOP THE BLEED® campaign is the next step in emergency first aid providing people with training and techniques on how to respond when a person is severely injured and is experiencing rapid blood loss. The STOP THE BLEED® training not only teaches participants how to use gauze and tourniquets to stop bleeding but also what to do to prevent the situation from becoming worse.
As with any injury or medical emergency, immediate treatment provides critical time to stabilize or revive the patient while professional emergency services are on their way. In the event of a traumatic bleeding injury, time is even more crucial as it can take a just a few minutes for bleeding to cause death.
As shown in national studies, prompt access to trauma kits will greatly increase the survival chance of the injured bleeding person. A traumatic bleeding injury can happen at any moment and in any location. California is especially susceptible to emergency disasters, such as earthquakes, that can result in the need to treat numerous people with severe injuries. In these circumstances excellent pre-hospital emergency care for the injured is critical to provide trauma and emergency centers with the necessary time to prepare for and save the injured. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerability of our emergency centers to handle a sudden large influx of patients while still handling normal caseloads. STOP THE BLEED®training and the use of trauma kits will help to provide precious time for severely injured patients and will save lives.
Last year Assembly Bill 2260 made certain that trauma kits are available in California’s new buildings and public places when and where they are needed most. Bill AB 70 carries this further into buildings undergoing more than $100,000 in renovations. The benefits in saving lives by far outweigh the necessary small investment to implement this program.
We are very pleased to offer our complete support for AB 70.
Sincerely,
DRAFT LETTER to Support AB 71:
Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez
Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5250
P.O. Box 942849-0053;
Sacramento, California 95814
(916) 319-2053
Dear Assemblymember Rodriguez,
On behalf of _, we offer our strongest support for Assembly Bill 71 – Pupil
instruction: bleeding control.
As _, we know you have previously supported training the public in basic first aid.
You have also supported more advanced training such as teaching high school students CPR and how to
use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to provide individuals with the knowledge and techniques
to respond when a person has stopped breathing or is having cardiac arrest. Individuals with these types
of trainings have come to expect access to medical resources and tools such as first aid kits and AEDs in
public places and buildings when they are needed. Existing law that you introduced authorizes a school
district or school to provide a comprehensive program in first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation
training, or both, to pupils and employees in accordance with specified guidelines. These programs have
saved many lives, changing what was once a hopeless situation to a 95% survival rate when CPR and
AEDs are used within 3 minutes of a cardiac arrest.
However, we now know these cardiac campaigns alone are not enough to save an injured person with
major bleeding.
The STOP THE BLEED® campaign is the next step in emergency first aid providing people, including high
school students with the training and techniques on how to respond when a person is severely injured
and is experiencing rapid blood loss. The STOP THE BLEED® training not only teaches participants how to
use gauze, direct pressure and tourniquets to stop bleeding but also what to do to prevent the situation
from becoming worse.
As with any injury or medical emergency, immediate treatment provides critical time to stabilize or
revive the patient while professional emergency services are on their way. In the event of a traumatic
bleeding injury, time is even more crucial as it can take a just a few minutes for bleeding to cause death.
As shown in national and California studies, providing trained persons, including high school students
and prompt access to trauma kits will greatly increase the chance of survival for the injured bleeding
person.
A traumatic bleeding injury can happen at any moment and in any location. California is especially
susceptible to emergency disasters, such as earthquakes, that can result in the need to treat numerous
people with severe injuries. In these circumstances excellent pre-hospital emergency care for the
injured is critical to provide trauma and emergency centers with the necessary time to prepare for and
save the injured.
STOP THE BLEED® high school training will increase significantly the number of providers who will help
to provide precious time for severely injured patients and will save more lives.
We are very pleased to offer our full support for AB 71.
Sincerely