March 31 is National “Stop the Bleed Day,” which is relevant to this area because Killingworth was the first town in Connecticut to have its residents certified for the “Stop the Bleed” program.
That happened last July when 19 persons — including EMTs and KAA board members — completed a one-hour course. Since then, the KAA has offered several classes — with two last month — led by an emergency medical physician at Yale-New Haven Health who also happens to be a KAA board member.
The nationwide campaign in March is to highlight the importance of “Stop the Bleed” training and to help those interested in finding a course in their areas.
Launched by the White House in 2015, the “Stop the Bleed” program is intended to cultivate grassroots efforts to encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped and empowered to help in bleeding emergencies, such as the recent tragedies in Florida and Las Vegas.
The group leading the nationwide effort has asked the American College of Surgeons to solicit participation from all instructors to increase the number of locations offering the Bleeding Control Basics course. Furthermore, the college is encouraging all B-Con instructors to help make the life-saving course available in their regions on or around March 31.
The event information encourages the public to find a course in its area by logging on to bleedingcontrol.org and asks instructors to list their courses on the website so people can find them.