Stop the Bleed

Stop the Bleed
Name	Stop the Bleed
Formation	2015
Founder	American College of Surgeons
Type	Public health campaign
Location	United States
Purpose	Hemorrhage control training
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois

Stop the Bleed

Stop the Bleed is a national public health campaign designed to teach civilians life-saving hemorrhage control techniques for use in mass casualty incidents, active shooter events, natural disasters, and everyday trauma. The initiative emphasizes rapid application of direct pressure, tourniquets, and wound packing to reduce exsanguination, integrating training into schools, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations. Its model draws on lessons from trauma systems, emergency medical services, and military combat casualty care to empower bystanders alongside professional responders.

Overview

The campaign was initiated to address uncontrolled hemorrhage as the leading potentially survivable cause of death after major trauma, connecting stakeholders such as the American College of Surgeons, Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross, National Association of EMS Physicians, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a coordinated public health response. Curriculum developers consulted experts from Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, Harvard Medical School, University of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts General Hospital to adapt battlefield hemorrhage control methods used by the United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force for civilian contexts. Partnerships expanded to include the National Football League, National PTA, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and municipal authorities in cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia. The movement prompted suppliers like Medline Industries, ECMO, and trauma device manufacturers in Minneapolis and Boston to market civilian-grade tourniquets and bleeding-control kits.

History and Development

Early impetus came from analyses of combat casualty care from conflicts involving the Iraq War, Afghanistan War, and lessons codified by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care and the Joint Theater Trauma System. Following mass-casualty shootings such as those at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Pulse nightclub, Las Vegas shooting, and the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma launched the initiative in collaboration with the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. Pilot programs were implemented through municipal public health departments including Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Cook County Department of Public Health, and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Legislative and executive attention from figures in the United States Congress, Office of the Mayor of New York City, and state legislatures in Florida, Texas, and California drove funding streams and incorporation into school safety plans alongside programs from the Department of Education and National Governors Association.

Techniques and Training

Instruction emphasizes three core steps: apply direct pressure, pack wounds, and use tourniquets, drawing technique standards from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, and military guidance from the Defense Health Agency. Training modules have been adapted for diverse audiences including teachers from Teach For America, security personnel from Transportation Security Administration, university staff at University of California, Los Angeles, and corporate teams at firms headquartered in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Courses often interoperate with mass-casualty incident protocols used by New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Mayo Clinic, and regional trauma centers designated by state health departments. Instructors are drawn from trauma surgeons affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Washington Medical Center, and veteran medics from the United States Marine Corps and United States Special Operations Command.

Equipment and Supplies

Recommended items include civilian tourniquets modeled after military designs used by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, hemostatic dressings developed with input from researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine and University of Alabama at Birmingham, and dedicated bleeding-control kits distributed in public venues such as airports managed by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, stadiums operated by Madison Square Garden Company and MetLife Stadium, and transit hubs like Union Station (Washington, D.C.) and Los Angeles Union Station. Vendors and standards bodies including Underwriters Laboratories, ASTM International, and manufacturers in Cleveland Clinic Innovation have contributed to product testing and certification. Storage and placement strategies mirror automated external defibrillator deployment programs promoted by American Heart Association and municipal offices in Seattle and Denver.

Implementation and Public Policy

Municipal, state, and federal policy actions have ranged from grant-funded training initiatives through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state emergency management agencies to incorporation into school safety laws in Florida and Texas. Advocacy groups and professional associations such as the American College of Surgeons, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, and International Association of Fire Chiefs worked with legislators in the United States Congress and state capitols to secure liability protections and funding. The campaign has been integrated into preparedness frameworks used by Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and county health departments across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Public education partnerships included outreach via Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, National Museum of American History, and media collaborations with outlets like CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR to expand public awareness.

Effectiveness and Research Studies

Evaluations of bystander-applied hemorrhage control cite studies from trauma centers at University of Maryland Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and retrospective analyses published by researchers affiliated with Harvard School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Peer-reviewed work in journals connected to American College of Surgeons and outcomes research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate improved survival when timely hemorrhage control is provided, mirroring military data from the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research. Ongoing randomized and observational studies involve collaborations with RAND Corporation, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and academic consortia at Duke University and University of Michigan. Implementation science projects funded through the National Institutes of Health and state health agencies continue to assess barriers identified in urban settings like Detroit and rural counties in West Virginia.

Category:Public health campaigns