WASHINGTON, DC (May 19, 2022): The American College of Surgeons (ACS) strongly supports the Prevent Blood Loss with Emergency Equipment Devices Act (Prevent BLEEDing Act) introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) in the U.S. Senate and Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ) and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The introduction of this legislation comes as the U.S. marks the fifth annual National STOP THE BLEED® Day, which falls during the broader observance of National STOP THE BLEED® Month in May.
“We applaud Senators Menendez and Boozman and Representatives O’Halleran and Wenstrup for introducing the Prevent Blood Loss with Emergency Equipment Devices Act (Prevent BLEEDing Act). This legislation is crucial to support efforts to bring STOP THE BLEED® training and equipment directly to all U.S. citizens. Similar to CPR, a civilian familiar with basic bleeding control techniques is equipped to save a life when minutes matter,” said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons. “This critically important legislation will help to educate and empower individuals to take life-saving action during an emergency.”
The Prevent BLEEDing Act creates a grant program under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide anti-blood loss supplies for use in a medical emergency and implement training on bleeding control techniques.
In a letter supporting the legislation, the ACS recommends that the grant ensure that eligible entities are procuring only high-quality tourniquets and other bleeding control supplies, such as products approved by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and the Department of Defense (DoD) Combat Casualty Research Program, in order to prevent a scenario where a poorly made device might fail and not adequately stop severe bleeding.
STOP THE BLEED® was launched in October of 2015 by the White House, with a call to action to make our nation more resilient and to begin training more people to become immediate responders during a bleeding emergency until professional help arrives. The ACS STOP THE BLEED® program is operated under a licensing agreement granted by the Department of Defense.
Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death after injury. STOP THE BLEED® training empowers participants to control bleeding in three ways: apply direct pressure, pack the wound, and apply a tourniquet. Anyone can learn to STOP THE BLEED® by taking the new online interactive course, which gives participants the knowledge they need to complete the lecture portion of the course. Participants must complete the skills portion of the training prior to receiving their certificate of completion.
Learn more and find a course on the STOP THE BLEED® website.
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About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 84,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. “FACS” designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
