Stop the Bleed Program
In 2013, the White House introduced the “Stop the Bleed” campaign to encourage bystanders to assist with lifesaving bleeding control procedures in their communities. Specifically, the national campaign encourages an increased awareness of straightforward and easily learned first aid strategies for all members of the community. The campaign also calls for placing bleeding control equipment in locations readily accessible to the public.
One of the early proponents of the “Stop the Bleed” campaign is Dr. Adam Fox ’92, a trauma surgeon from New Jersey and former member of Harpur’s Ferry Ambulance Service. Passionate about personal safety as well as his alma mater, Fox is motivated to bring this potentially life-saving program to Binghamton University. In September 2017, he approached representatives from the University to introduce the “Stop the Bleed” campaign and to volunteer his time and expertise to help implement this important program. He is actively working with members of the University’s emergency management program, University Police and Harpur’s Ferry to develop an implementation plan for the campus, and to ensure the campaign’s success.
With Fox’s support, Binghamton University will take the first step toward adoption of this program by enhancing first-responder training. Coordinated by the University’s emergency management program, initial efforts will focus on training first responders (police, fire and EMS) to respond more effectively to mass-casualty incidents like an active shooter attack or an explosion. Members of Harpur’s Ferry Student Volunteer Ambulance Squad have agreed to serve as program instructors, with the first cadre of staff completing its training in December 2016. These instructors will train their initial group of first responders in January 2017, starting with officers from the New York State University Police at Binghamton. Training will be expanded to other agencies/organizations and will continue to be provided on a routine basis.
As part of the initiative, each University police officer has been equipped with a bleeding control kit that includes a tourniquet, hemostatic bandage and nitrile gloves. To encourage bystander intervention, the emergency management program, which manages the automatic external defibrillator program with more than 160 AEDs in locations across campus, intends to add bleeding control kits to each AED cabinet. These kits will be quickly accessible to all members of the community in the event of a critical injury. Additionally, larger capacity kits will be placed in key locations where groups of students, staff, faculty or guests frequently gather. Campus AED cabinets that contain a bleeding control kit will be marked on the outside of the cabinet with a highly visible sticker that indicates a “Stop the Bleed” kit is inside.
Seeking additional support for this program, Fox and Dave Hubeny, the University’s director of emergency management, recently discussed the initiative with NYS Sen. Fred Akshar. As a former law enforcement officer, Akshar has unique insight into the importance of emergency response training and readily available equipment. The senator shared his keen interest in the safety of all members of the community and is continuing to communicate with Fox and Hubeny regarding the program.
Binghamton University will be first institute of higher education in New York state, and one of the first in the United States, to implement the “Stop The Bleed” campaign. Adopting a program intended to ensure prompt access to life-saving, easy-to-use hemorrhage control equipment increases the safety of all members of the campus community. With the support of visionary leaders like Fox and Akshar, Binghamton University will continue to be a leader in higher education safety and security.