'Tourniquets Save Lives' | Doctors Encourage Residents To Take 'Stop The Bleed Course' In Wake Of Officer-Involved Shooting
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Doctors said it was a tourniquet that saved the life of the Baltimore County Police officer who was shot in the stomach during a police-involved shooting in northeast Baltimore on Wednesday.
"At least one of the [officers'] lives were saved by a tourniquet," Thomas Scalea, Trauma Surgeon at Shock Trauma, said.
Tara Reed Carlson, Director of Community Outreach with Shock Trauma, said learning how to use a tourniquet is a critical skill to have when time is running out to save a patient.
"It absolutely can save somebody's life," she said. "Depending on where somebody was penetrated, they can bleed to death very quickly, so it can be a matter of minutes."
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There is a campaign called "Stop The Bleed" which aims to teach people how to stop life-threatening bleeding by using a tourniquet or packing a wound.
"Pack, hold that position until help arrives, you never peek, you never let go," Pamela Smith, Stop The Bleed Coordinator for Shock Trauma, said.
Scalea highlighted the importance of the training hoping it can help save a life.
"I will not rest until every citizen of Baltimore and Maryland has taken this course," he said. "It's called Stop the Bleed. Because next time, maybe it's your family member and you too will help save their life."
If you are interested in taking a course on learning how to use a tourniquet, you can head over to Stop The Bleed to sign up.