Stop the Bleed Legislative Advocacy Day at Capitol
Laura Walker, BSN, RN, EMT, CFRN – Trauma Education Injury Prevention Outreach Specialist – Covenant HealthCare, Saginaw, MI
On May 25, 2023 the Michigan Trauma Coalition (MTC) and the Michigan Committee on Trauma (MCOT) held a Stop the Bleed Legislative Advocacy Day at the Michigan State Capitol. This is the third time they have partnered to provide this event.
Eighty volunteers from MTC and MCOT, as well as nursing students and medical students, dressed in red Stop the Bleed t-shirts to identify themselves as trainers. Throughout the day they trained legislators, staff, and visitors. The red-shirted trainers taught participants how to recognize life-threatening bleeding, how to pack a wound, and how to apply a tourniquet.
At their demonstration tables, Stop the Bleed volunteers gave away 377 first aid kits to attendees. The first aid kits contained Stop the Bleed instructions along with the usual bandages, gloves, and supplies. MTC and MCOT also donated some of the first aid kits to Capitol Security, who provide ongoing training to new staff.
Though 55 people were trained, it’s hard to estimate the total impact of the event, as numerous other people stopped by the demonstration tables, including both staff and visitors. MTC and MCOT are proud of their volunteers and their efforts to educate and bring awareness to both the Capitol attendees and by extension, their greater communities.
For more information about the Stop the Bleed program, visit the national Stop the Bleed website.
Michigan State employees took time to learn how to Stop the Bleed.
Members of multiple trauma centers collaborated to train and bring awareness to Stop the Bleed.
Visitors at the capital took time to stop in and learn how to Stop the Bleed.
