Course Information
The Stop the Bleed Course is a 1-hour, interactive class led by CWRU EMS EMTs that teaches participants how to recognize and control life-threatening bleeding during an emergency. The course is completely free, and all training equipment is provided!
If you are interested in scheduling a class or learning more, please reach out to our External Operations Director, Morgan Horowitz, at cwruems-extops@case.edu.
Program Overview
In October of 2015, the White House of the United States of America released the Hartford Consensus, which outlined a nationwide-program called Stop the Bleed. Stop the Bleed hopes to provide lay people with the skills, equipment, and mentality necessary to save a person’s life. This program aims to give the general public a basic sense of hemorrhage (bleeding) control skills, while also equipping public areas with the equipment required to do so (tourniquets, gauze, etc.)!
The Hartford Consensus was written after the tragic mass-casualty event at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. These guidelines aim to minimize future casualties in the case of similar events occurring again. In particular, it hopes to completely eliminate deaths caused by uncontrolled hemorrhage (bleeding), one of the leading causes of pre-hospital-arrival death.
Stop the Bleed is built on the understanding that bystanders are often the first people present when a serious injury occurs. Because every second matters when controlling life-threatening bleeding, a trained bystander can make a significant difference in a patient’s chance of survival. As Julie Dow, Chief of Davie Fire Rescue, emphasized, “Priority 1, the bystander has to get involved.”
Stop the Bleed encourages local fire departments and EMS agencies across the country to offer Bleeding Control classes within their communities. By providing training at the local level, instructors can address region-specific questions, such as where bleeding-control equipment is available, while also helping community members become familiar with the agencies that would respond during an emergency. These classes provide participants with a basic understanding of life-threatening bleeding and hands-on practice using hemorrhage-control techniques and equipment, including tourniquets.
Everyone! As emergency physician Dr. Eileen Bulger explained, “Nobody expects it to happen to them, but it could.” Stop the Bleed classes are typically completed in about an hour and introduce key topics such as bloodborne pathogens, direct pressure, tourniquet application, and the use of hemostatic agents.
The goal is to make lifesaving bleeding-control skills simple and accessible. As Dr. Raquel Forsythe noted, “The concepts really aren't that hard. We really just want to empower people to save a life.” By the end of the class, participants will have the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to control life-threatening bleeding and help keep a patient alive until definitive medical care is available.