Augusta law enforcement officers who may be the first to respond to gun violence will be given free training on how to stop victims from bleeding out.
New Augusta EMS provider Central EMS hosts a Stop the Bleed training program next week on how to control bleeding, which can kill in five minutes.
“We can get to an ambulance call quickly, but on the scene, the actions they take can save lives,” said Gary Coker, president of Central EMS. “We want to teach as many people as we can what to do before the ambulance gets there.”
Stop the Bleed is a trademarked program that developed from the Hartford Consensus, a national emergency response protocol likened to widespread CPR instruction.
Influenced by the mass casualty events and the military, it marked the re-embrace of the tourniquet as a means of stopping blood loss.
Augusta joined the growing list of 2023 mass shooting events when gunfire erupted among a group of motorcyclists largely from outside the area May 13. More than 150 rounds were fired, two were killed, three were injured and 12 people were arrested.
Multiple Augusta agencies previously committed to adopting the National Fire Protection Association 3000 standards, which are a set of protocols for active shooter or hostile event response. A multi-agency drill was held May 18.
Participants in Stop the Bleed will receive instruction on how to apply pressure with their hands, how to pack a wound and how to correctly apply a tourniquet, then will have the opportunity to practice using these methods.
The course will follow the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians bleeding control course led by Dennis Rowe, director of government and industry relations for Priority Ambulance and paramedic Ken Bouvier, a professional EMS speaker.
The training will be conducted at Augusta Fire Station, 928 Telfair St. Classes will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-3:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
