Domingo Ramirez Jr.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH, Texas — Stop the Bleed kits have been known to save lives during a disaster or an active shooter incident.
But emergency response officials have had to face the questions of how and when to use them in recent years in Texas and across the country.
In case a large-scale trauma incident ever happens again in Fort Worth or in nearby cities, MedStar officials might have some solutions.
MedStar has assembled six specialized duffel bags, each containing 40 Stop the Bleed kits that can be dispersed to residents at a scene to help paramedics treat trauma victims.
The kits have been placed in all MedStar supervisor response vehicles, with more kits available to be used if needed during mass gatherings such as Fort Worth’s Main Street Arts Festival, Mayfest in Fort Worth and events at Texas Motor Speedway.
“When we respond to a large-scale incident, we now have the ability to open the bag on scene and disperse the STB kits to bystanders as needed,” said Michael Potts, MedStar’s manager of special events and safety, in a news release. Potts developed the kits.
“This is a tool that has the potential to save lives during disasters or events like an active police situation,” Potts said.
The kits contain such items as bleeding control instructions, two pairs of gloves, a pair of trauma shears, emergency bandages, a tourniquet, two rolls of compressed gauze wraps and a permanent marker.
The kits were funded through a $10,000 grant from the North Texas Regional Trauma Advisory Council.
MedStar offers free Stop the Bleed classes, which include training in the use of the items in the kit. MedStar is a regional governmental agency and responds to 155,000 emergency medical service calls each year covering a population of more than 1 million residents in over 434 square miles.
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