Texarkana Emergency Center donates 60 Stop the Bleed kits to state troopers
Texarkana Emergency Center recently donated 60 Stop the Bleed kits to state troopers on both sides of the state line.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and Arkansas State Police received approximately 30 kits each.
Those kits provide the police with the ability to stop or slow bleeding when responding to an emergency situation and include tourniquets, combat gauze, compression dressing, trauma shears and gloves. The kits cost between $80 and $100 each.
“Locally, almost every officer in every vehicle should have a Stop the Bleed kit,” said Dr. Matt Young, emergency room physician and physician owner of Texarkana Emergency Center. “Many times officers are the first to the scene of an unfortunate accident
or injury and these kits will help save lives.”
The departments were happy to receive the help.
“Since we cover eight counties, mostly rural, this gives troopers the opportunity in a first responder capacity to have the tools to stop the bleed and apply pressure while we’re waiting for EMS,” said Lt. Jamie Gravier, highway patrolman with Troop G. “Sometimes in rural counties, the transit time for EMS can be 20 to 30 minutes. The sooner you can stop the bleeding, the better the chance they will have to survive.”
Texarkana Emergency Center has donated approximately 650 kits to local school and first responders.
“This has been very well received. The idea is to be able to save a life,” Young said. “The idea is to save a life. … With an extremity injury, especially a femoral artery injury, someone can bleed out in minutes.”