VALHALLA N.Y. (November 1, 2021) - Specialists from Westchester Medical Center's Level I trauma center recently trained Westchester County Police Department Emergency Services Unit personnel on techniques that help mitigate excessive bleeding caused by a traumatic injury. The effort is a component of Westchester Medical Center's Stop the Bleed education initiative for which the Westchester Medical Center trainers are certified by the American College of Surgeons.
The Westchester County Police Department Emergency Service Unit provides specialized support to the department and local jurisdictions for motor vehicle accidents, extrications and other emergencies. Westchester Medical Center has already trained personnel from several local law enforcement agencies and future training sessions for Westchester County Police Department personnel are planned.
A panel of trauma care experts developed the Stop the Bleed training program after the 2012 Sandy Hook (CT) Elementary School mass shooting, in order to improve survival chances for individuals with severe bleeding.
"We are placing a special focus on the training of law enforcement personnel as this group is often the first to arrive at a trauma scene. Loss of blood due to a traumatic injury is a leading cause of death in the United States* and the sooner blood loss is mitigated after injury, the likelihood of a positive outcome increases for the victim," said Kartik Prabhakaran, MD, Trauma Medical Director for Westchester Medical Center. "We also encourage schools and other community organizations to consider a Stop the Bleed training as the skills can be used in many situations where blood loss is concerning."
Law enforcement agencies and other organizations interested in scheduling a Westchester Medical Center Stop the Bleed training session should contact Marc Musicus, EMS & Injury Prevention Coordinator, at 914.493.8419 or Marc.Musicus@WMCHealth.org.
Westchester Medical Center Training Local Law Enforcement Personnel How to "Stop the Bleed" from WMCHealth on Vimeo.
About Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Westchester Medical Center is the premier provider of advanced medical care in New York's Hudson Valley region. The flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, this 415-bed academic hospital located in Valhalla, New York, provides local residents with acute care services – Level I trauma and burn care, organ transplants, Comprehensive Stroke Center and more - found nowhere else in the region. Westchester Medical Center is the primary referral facility for other hospitals in the Hudson Valley and serves as a lifeline for more than 2.4 million people. To learn more about Westchester Medical Center and the vital services it provides to residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond, visit WestchesterMedicalCenter.org or follow Westchester Medical Center at Facebook.com/WestchesterMedicalCenter and Twitter.com/WestchesterMed.
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The network has Level 1, Level 2, and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.
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*Donley ER, Loyd JW. Hemorrhage Control. [Updated 2021 Jul 23]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535393/
CONTACT:
Andy LaGuardia
914.493.6532
Andrew.LaGuardia@WMCHealth.org