A new program is launching in Tarrant County that will use bystanders and everyday citizens to help out in a large-scale emergency situation.
MedStar has assembled six specialized duffle bags with 40 stop-the-bleed kits in each that can be deployed to bystanders in the field to help medics treat trauma victims.
“One of the after actions of the Las Vegas shooting was the fact that laypeople that were on the scene didn’t have tools and tools were not readily available for them to provide any immediate care,” Michael Potts, MedStar's manager of special events and safety said.
The bags include gloves for protection, a tourniquet and bandages.
“We will stage kits at strategic locations at mass gatherings like venues where we do extended operations like TCU athletics, at Amon Carter, Panther Island, Texas Motor Speedway and the Stock Show,” Potts said. “This is designed to drop at the scene of a large-scale shooting, penetrating trauma, explosion [or] blast to give laypeople the tools needed to stop the bleed.”
When in use, the kits can get lifesaving tools into the hands of hundreds of people at a time.
“If a large incident occurs, they unzip the bag, start handing kits out and use the laypeople on scene as extra responders and do what we can to improve patient outcome,” Potts said.
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The kits were paid for through a $10,000 grant from the North Texas Regional Trauma Advisory Council.
