Phoebe continued its support of a partnership that provides public safety departments with lifesaving equipment and training by delivering Stop the Bleed kits to the Dougherty County Police Department (DCPD) this week.  “As the regional coordinating hospital in southwest Georgia, we take a lead role in our regional healthcare coalition.  We’re proud to provide these kits to law enforcement officers in every department in many of the 17 counties in our region to ensure they are better prepared to deal with many situations they may face in the line of duty” said Gary Rice, Phoebe Emergency Preparedness Manager.
 
Stop the Bleed kits include tourniquets, bleeding control dressings and compression bandages.  Dougherty County EMS Paramedic Robby Head led education sessions for the DCPD officers that included hands-on training on how to use their hands to apply pressure to a wound, how to pack a wound to control bleeding and how to correctly apply a tourniquet.  Phoebe and Dougherty County are working with the Georgia Trauma Commission and the Region K Healthcare Coalition to deliver the kits and provide the necessary training.  
 
“When a person suffers serious trauma, one of the main causes of death is blood loss.  Minimizing blood loss is essential,” said Sam Allen, Dougherty County EMS Director.  “As soon as our paramedics arrive on a scene where a person is bleeding, we’ll take over the effort to stop the blood loss.  Even a few minutes can be critical, so if another first responder gets there first and can start working to control bleeding, that patient is more likely to have a good outcome.  That’s why we’re so supportive of this project and are happy to conduct this training throughout our region.”
 
Over two days, Phoebe handed out Stop the Bleed kits to every DCPD officer and each officer participated in the EMS training.  “It’s a great benefit for us,” said Lt. Byron Hill, DCPD Training Coordinator.  “Police work has changed and evolved, and we need to keep up with those changes.  We just want to be prepared to help the public or our fellow officers if something should happen.  It could be the difference between somebody dying or making it to the hospital to get the treatment they need.”
 
Georgia’s regional healthcare coalitions, organized through the Department of Public Health, help close gaps in emergency response.  Coalition partners include local emergency medical services, emergency management agencies, law enforcement departments, public health, hospitals and many other healthcare facilities such as nursing homes and behavioral health centers.  “All of our coalition partners work closely together to prepare for disasters and major emergencies which could have multiple casualties,” Rice said.  “Stop the Bleed training helps us respond better to those situations but can also be beneficial when just one seriously injured person.  It’s all about saving lives.”