Helping the Hill County Sheriff's Office stop the bleeding

Northern Montana Hospital Auxiliary presented Hill County Sheriff's Office with 20 "Stop the Bleed" bleeding control kits Wednesday.

Supervisor for Volunteer Services Mim Tchida said they have raised money for the kits through fundraisers and the gift shop at the hospital, adding that the bleeding control kits are not only for the deputies.

The kits are emergency kits put together to help stop the bleeding of people who have suffered severe injury, Tchida said.

The hospital will be holding free classes for the public on how to use the kits as well as having them for sale in the hospital's gift shop for $60, she said, adding that everyone should know how to use the kits and have a kit in case of emergency, such as farmers and ranchers who are injured every year across the country.

Dale Herd, PA-C, who had initially contacted the sheriff's office last month, said he had used these kits while serving in the U.S. Army. He added that these are military-grade kits.

He said emergency medical technicians, the American College of Surgeons and the U.S. military approved these kits for civilian use. The free classes also were developed in conjunction with the military to ensure that the kits are as effective as possible.

He said he recommends buying the certified kits from the Stop the Bleed website, because the other, cheaper, brands most likely will fail when used.

These kits can provide immediate medical attention from someone who doesn't have a medical background, Herd said, being able to stop the bleeding in only a few minutes. He added that this saves lives, giving people crucial time to get to the hospital or have medical professionals arrive to treat the injury.

Undersheriff Stan Martin said the sheriff's office plans to carry a bleeding control kit in every patrol vehicle and keep a few at the station and a few at the jail. The office also will provide access and training available for the jail staff.

Martin said that nationwide trends show the kits have decreased loss-of-life injuries by 87 percent and many other departments have the kits. Although they hope they will never have to use the kits, he added, it is better to have them available.

He added that these kits are important because law enforcement officers are usually the first responders to an incident. The office is setting up the hour-long training classes for the kits.

If the office needs additional kits, Martin said, grants are available that the department will apply for.

The kits received by the sheriff's office consist of a tourniquet, responder trauma dressing, compressed gauze, hemostatic gauze, a permanent marker, gloves, trauma shears and an instruction card.

Martin said the kit is fast to apply and nontechnical so it is relatively easy to use.

That kit is only one of the options available on the Stop the Bleed website.

To find when Stop the Bleed classes are offered, people can visit Northern Montana Health Care's website or its Facebook page or contact Julianne LaSmith at [email protected].

More information about Stop the Bleed can also be found at https://www.bleedingcontrol.org/. Classes will also be posted on this website when available, click on the Find a Class and type in Havre, MT.

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Northern Montana Health Care Center website: https://nmhcare.org/.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthernMontanaHospital/.