Before First Responders could get to all the victims, bystanders provided emergency treatment to 23 seriously-injured people after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
All 23 survived.
That's no coincidence, said RN Debi Tuggle, who was an ER staff nurse at the University of Tennessee Medical Center for 13 years before becoming the medical center's Injury Prevention/Pediatric Trauma Coordinator seven years ago.
"Everyone who received care by a bystander survived, and had they not gotten that immediate care on-scene, many would have died," she said. "We need to empower citizens and train them on what they can do."
That's exactly how Tuggle and other UT Medical Center staff spent their Friday morning.
They were joined by City of Knoxville firefighters, paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians, as well as American Medical Response ambulance service staff, in providing “Stop the Bleed” training at the City County Building.
Medical professionals demonstrate how a bystander should apply pressure to save the life of someone with a wound to the torso.
KFD crews typically reach an emergency scene in a matter of minutes. But when seconds count, that might be too late.
No matter how quickly professional emergency responders arrive, bystanders are usually the first on the scene. A person with a trauma wound can die from blood loss within five minutes, according to “Stop the Bleed.”
If someone is a bystander at the scene of a car crash – or at a mass-casualty tragedy – the “Stop the Bleed” training will enable that person to know when and how to step in while waiting for First Responders to arrive.
“Those first minutes are critical,” said Fire Chief Stan Sharp. “People who go through ‘Stop the Bleed’ training will learn how to use several techniques – from applying direct pressure on the bleed to applying a tourniquet – to stop blood loss from trauma.”
Two open-to-the-public training sessions will be offered from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, at Market Square and at West Town Mall.
From left: Buddy Gibson, KFD; Leah Cohenour, AMR; John Brinkley, AMR; Debi Tuggle, UT Medical Center; Mayor Madeline Rogero (with a tourniquet on her left arm); Dustin Bull, KFD; Sgt. Debbie Carter, Knox County Sheriff's Office; and Chris McLain, AMR.
