Intro: This is Weekly Dose of Wellness, brought to you by Memorial Healthcare System. Here's Deborah Howell.

Deborah Howell (Host): Would you know what to do if someone was bleeding out at school in a car crash or during a mass casualty event? In this episode, Tassia Trink, Trauma Service PI coordinator at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children's and Women's Hospital, shares the vital skills behind the Stop The Bleed Initiative. This national campaign is turning everyday people into emergency responders by teaching simple life-saving steps, that can mean the difference between life and death. Welcome, Tassia.

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: Thank you for having me.

Host: Can you start by explaining what Stop The Bleed is and how it began?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: Yeah, absolutely. Stop The Bleed is a campaign that began in response to pretty much after the unfortunate Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012. So, the experts that study these things recognize that bystanders often have the first opportunity to save a life in the critical minutes before emergency responders arrive. And that if we had the ability to put tourniquets on those children in that instance, we could have saved a lot more lives. Because of that, they started a campaign basically saying like every second counts in 2015 with the White House National Security Council and collaborating with the American College of Surgeons, which is pretty much the boss of all the trauma centers in the nation. And they started this movement to teach bystanders very simple steps to how to stop the bleed and help save lives.

Host: It's incredible. And why is it so important for everyday people, including young people and students, to know how to control bleeding in an emergency?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: Well, uncontrolled bleeding is by far the leading cause of preventable death after a trauma. So, a person can die from severe blood loss within just a few minutes. And here in Long Beach, it takes about six minutes for an ambulance to arrive. And a normal average-sized person could bleed out in five minutes. So, that leaves us one minute before even help comes. So, Stop The Bleed is training individuals to recognize those life-threatening bleeding in emergencies and respond effectively by using those techniques to help save lives prior to EMS arriving.

Host: Got it. I think some examples might be useful right now. What kinds of situations could this training be useful for, especially in a school or a community setting?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: It's a good question. The situation can be used for the unfortunate active shooter type situation or mass casualty instance where multiple people are hurt or something like the Vegas shooting. It's great for teachers. It's great for people who work at parks or camping. Basically, anytime an accident happens, whether it's a shooting or even just a fall, you can have the possibility of severing an artery and bleeding out. So, we do teach teachers, parents, office workers, teenagers to recognize this life-threatening bleeding, and using techniques such as direct pressure and tourniquets just so they can act quickly. Basically, anyone and everyone can have this chance to help save someone, because you never know when accidents happen.

Host: You definitely got my curiosity piqued. And I definitely want to learn what Stop The Bleed is all about. So, what do community members learn during a typical Stop the Bleed session? Can you sort of walk us through the basics?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: Sure. It's actually pretty quick. We can do the certifying course in about two hours. But you learn four basic techniques. You learn to recognize uncontrolled bleeding. You already know how to call 911. We teach you how to apply pressure with your hands, pack the wounds and add pressure if necessary, and then apply the tourniquet. It's very, very basic, but we just are empowering a bystander, instilling the confidence that you can actually help save a life too.

Host: Right. And how does this training align with your work in the Trauma Department, and why is community education a priority for your team?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: Community education is super important. Stop the Bleed training aligns with Trauma departments by expanding our trauma care into the community. Community is what brings in our patients, and we already have that job security whether or not bad things happen just by the whole nature of accidents happen anyways.

So as a trauma center, we're obliged to help the community and try to help reduce pre-hospital deaths. We have goals, and community education is one of our priorities because it transforms these bystanders into immediate responders. And it's our job as nurses and as a trauma center to help teach the community about the mechanisms of injuries that are the most probable things, such as bleeding, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, things like that.

Host: You know, a lot of people in these situations might normally feel queasy or unsure about helping. What would you say to someone who feels nervous or unsure about stepping in during an emergency?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: You are telling me that not everyone likes blood?

Host: Yeah, that's the thing.

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: So, super normal to feel nervous or unsure about stepping in, especially if you don't have the training. But what I tell people is that it's really important to remember that you're just trying to do the right thing and help, that even if you are queasy or are unsure about blood or don't know what to do, just sitting there and staying with a person, calling 911, letting them know that you're not going to be alone. Help is coming. And then, even helping them direct, like if you don't actually want to touch the person or feel uncomfortable, you can give them directive to "Let's take this towel and let's hold it over your cut. It's going to be okay. I'm going to stay with you. Who can I call? The paramedics are on the way. You can get some help." So, anything you do is going to help a person that's in need.

Host: That was the thing. It's like a lot of people think, "Oh, do no harm." You know, you're not supposed to touch a person or roll them over or whatever. So, people are very afraid to do anything.

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: Right. I always just think about it, what would you want to receive if you were the person in that time of need? So if it's just someone to sit there and comfort you, hold your hand and be there, I think that that's help enough.

Host: And how can the community request a Stop The Bleed training session from your team?

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: You can go on memorialcare.org/communityeducation and request. You could contact Long Beach Memorial Trauma Department and send us an email, and we're able to coordinate with you and come on out to your location. And you can also go to stopthebleed.com, and look up the different areas around your neighborhood and see what organizations teach Stop the Bleed as well. Emailing me is the easiest way to go, and we will come out and teach you and your community how to stop the bleed and possibly save lives.

Host: It's a beautiful thing. Okay. Well, if there's anything you'd like to add, this would be the time because we're about to wrap up.

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: No, it's just a very simple thing, a couple easy steps. And it's super important because these are the low frequency but high impact situations. And, you know, if you have the ability to help save someone, I think that's a pretty cool thing.

Host: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Tassia, for your time and your expertise today. We really enjoyed having you on the podcast, and we learned so much.

Tassia Trink, BSN, RN: You are welcome. Thank you guys for the opportunity.

Host: And once again, families can learn more about community education and stop the Bleed resources at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children's and Women's Hospital by visiting memorialcare.org/communityeducation. That's all for this time. I'm Deborah Howell. Have yourself a terrific day.