In 1999, Columbine high school was struck by tragedy, when two twelfth graders entered their school, and proceeded to shoot and kill 10 students and one teacher, while injuring many more. The incident lasted hours and first responders were slow to the scene. Not only did the event help coin the term “active shooters”, but it also led to the evolution of protocols and training tactics for future traumatic events. Active shooters are not the only threat that leads to injury, events like, car accidents, kitchen mishaps, and falls can lead to severe bleeding and wounds.

 

 

Since the Columbine massacre, drastic progress has been made, through tactics such as Immediate Action Rapid Deployment (IARD) and courses such as Stop the Bleed.  In the past, when traumatic situations occurred officers were advised to wait for back up, secure a perimeter, and create a plan of action. IARD is a tactic that allows first responders such as, solo officers, to act immediately and attempt to cease any further injury or deaths to take place. This tactic demands that first responders’ immediate and main focus is the “active shooter”; any wounded civilians must wait for the threat to be neutralized before they can receive medical attention. In an event of a crisis or traumatic incident, it is imperative that special forces and civilians find a way to work together to diffuse the situation and care for wounded individuals.

 

 

 

Stop the Bleed  was founded by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), “The purpose of the campaign is to build national resilience by better preparing the public to save lives by raising awareness of basic actions to stop life-threatening bleeding following everyday emergencies and man-made and natural disasters.”  Stop the Bleed is a 90-minute course provided online and in-person that teaches participants lifesaving skills with hands-on practice. The course allows laypeople the ability to safely and knowledgeably step in and aid injured individuals. The course focuses on the proper use of a tourniquet and how to pack a wound effectively. The trainers provide informative PowerPoints to aid in their instruction, which is easy to follow and understand. Stop the Bleed has trained over one million individuals and has set a new goal of an additional million! Kids and adults alike benefit from taking this course, as it instills useful information that can be used over time to save lives. The implementation of Stop the Bleed throughout society will encourage people encountering a crisis to step up and aid those in need.

 

 

We are a research group, compromised of seniors from Wayne State University. This semester, under the guidance of our professor Stephanie Tong and her assistant Kelsey Husnick, we researched Stop the Bleed. First, we investigated traumatic incidences in and around school campuses. Second, we gathered information on Stop the Bleed and participated in the 90 min course. We worked to create comprehensive surveys to analyze Stop the Bleep participant's knowledge before and after taking the course. Our main objective was to find out how the course’s material affected participants and if any information was retained. As college students, we found the 90-minute course informative, educational, and helpful if faced with future traumatic events. It is imperative that institutions, civilians, and law enforcement work together to prevent any unnecessary injuries or deaths from taking place. Wayne State University staff has taken it upon themselves to provide valuable information for students, staff, and parents in case a crisis takes place.

 

 

Wayne State University’s website includes easy access to a number of sources about safety drills, what to do in an emergency situation, and how to react in different situations while on campus. All of these documents and videos can be found through the Wayne State website. While their target audience is students and faculty, the information is open for the public to review. Wayne State has various sources on how to deal with emergency situations. They provide an “Emergency Training Preparedness” class throughout the campus that is open to all students and faculty. This emergency training class is offered through the Wayne State Police Department and taught by a member of the police department, it covers how to react in certain emergency situations, what to do, and how to survive. They have information on active attackers, what to do in a situation, and also provide PDF’s of “Seal Steps to Surviving an Active Shooter,'' as well as “10 Tips for Surviving A Terrorist Vehicle Attack,” which cover how to react in these situations, for example, in an active shooter attack, does one fight, flight, or freeze? The Wayne State Police Department also put together a seven-minute video on how to act, and survive during an active shooter attack. This video visually shows a simulation throughout the Wayne State Campus of an active shooter, and students and faculty reacting in the proper ways. With these resources provided by Wayne State University students are able to prepare themselves for possible emergency situations, that could result in saving their own life, or the life of another.

 

 

Sadly, freak accidents occur daily and mass causalities take place frequently. Gunviolencearchive.org is a nonprofit that tracks and posts all reported gun wounds and deaths, already in 2020 there have been over 10,000 deaths and 7,000 injuries (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/). Courses like Stop the Bleed are necessary to educate parents, teachers, children, and all civilians in how to protect themselves and help others when a crisis occurs. This course is intended for most ages, the information is easy to follow, understand, and retain. The benefits of Stop the Bleed are currently being researched and since the teaching of the course is still in its infancy stage more studies should be conducted as more people become educated.

Although progress has been made, there is always room for growth and adaptation. With new law enforcement tactics such as IARD being practiced, revised, and implemented in a crisis less civilians will be injured. Also, courses like and Stop the Bleed being implemented in schools, businesses, and hospitals will help to educate citizens how to act safely and protect themselves and potentially save lives.