Oaklawn provides bleeding control kits for City of Marshall vehicles and Marshall Fire Department

On June 28, Oaklawn provided 28 bleeding control kits to the Marshall Fire Department as well as to the City of Marshall where the kits will be available in their service vehicles, including the Department of Public Works, Electric Department, Water Department, Wastewater Department and Dial-A-Ride.

The initiative was funded by Oaklawn and through a grant from the State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Michigan Statewide Systems of Care program. The grant was intended to provide funding for educational, performance improvement and community injury prevention initiatives related to trauma, stroke and heart attacks.

“City workers are often in situations where severe bleeding emergencies may occur, such as using chain saws, heavy equipment and in other industrial situations,” noted Oaklawn Director of Emergency Management Sarah Hughes, RN. “The money from this grant provides bleeding control bags with tourniquets, emergency dressing supplies, shears, bleeding control gauze and laminated instructions for approximately 28 kits for the City of Marshall to use in situations where there is a severe bleeding emergency.”

“Serious bleeding emergencies are actually the leading cause of death after a traumatic injury,” Hughes added. “And we can do something about it if you’re there quick and have the equipment that you need. You could use a t-shirt or a sock or get creative, but when you have the actual supplies it is so much better. Hopefully, they will never have to use the kits but having them will be beneficial if an emergency arises.”

Marshall Fire Chief Martin Erskine noted that time is of the essence when deploying the bleeding control kits when an emergency arises.

“If workers are out in the field, they can use the kits and stop the bleeding before emergency crews arrive,” said Erskine. “Waiting around after calling 911 could take at least five to six minutes for them to arrive. These kits are quite beneficial.”

In addition to the kits, Oaklawn provides initial and yearly “Stop The Bleed” training for City of Marshall employees. Through a similar previous grant a few years ago, Oaklawn provided numerous bleeding control kits to the City of Marshall Police and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department. Hughes noted that Oaklawn has received great feedback from the initiatives.

Oaklawn is an independent nonprofit Level III Trauma Center and highly regarded 5-star hospital. Its service area includes Calhoun County and parts of Branch and Eaton counties as well.

Oaklawn offers Stop The Bleed severe bleeding control classes to community members and organizations. Call Hughes at 269-789-7144 for more information.