Submitted by Clark Judge.
(Oct. 11, 2019) — For the past two years the Killingworth Ambulance Association has made “Stop the Bleed” classes available to the town. Now, it’s gone a step farther.
It installed its first bleeding control station.
The location is the Killingworth library, and the site makes sense for two reasons: 1) It is a public gathering spot for people of all ages, and 2) the library hosted a “Stop the Bleed” class last year. In fact, it was because of that class that library director Laurie Prichard – who attended the one-hour session – was interested in having a bleeding control station installed.
“It’s for the safety of our patrons,” she said. “With everything that’s going on today you want to make sure that, if someone needs help, you can provide it.”
And the library can. The station is located on the wall immediately behind the library’s front desk, with at least one staff member who attended last year’s “Stop the Bleed” class always available. Assembled by the KAA’s James Fretz, the storage case contains seven “Stop the Bleed” kits to treat traumatic blood loss – with each including a tourniquet, gauze, quick-clot and gloves.
The “Stop the Bleed” campaign, launched in 2015 by the White House and Department of Homeland Security, is designed to equip persons with the training to deal with emergency bleeding situations and with the tools to save lives. In fact, Killingworth two summers ago became the first town in Connecticut to have its citizens certified in the program, with 19 completing the course.
Until now, the KAA has continued that campaign through a series of free instructions, including one scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 at the KAA. But with the installation of its first emergency station in a public venue, it has expanded the program – hoping that others follow the lead of the Killingworth library.
“I’d recommend it,” Prichard said, “because you don’t know what could happen, and you don’t want to be in a position when someone you care about didn’t get the help they needed because one of these wasn’t available.”
