Inside the NFL's efforts to prepare for mass trauma events
Last year, the NFL made a recommendation that teams to add trauma kits to their safety arsenal. The Miami Dolphins is one of the latest teams to do so -- and "CBS This Morning" got an exclusive look at how staff at Hard Rock Stadium are being trained to use trauma kits after a major accident or an attack.
For two days, we watched as stadium employees from interns to the CEO learned how to stop traumatic bleeding and injury. Their coach was Lieutenant Dan Stout, A 25-year law enforcement veteran who now works for Tactical Medical Solutions. The Dolphins hired the company to install multiple public access trauma kits throughout Hard Rock Stadium and train its workers on how to use them.
The trauma kits are more than just first-aid kits. "These are stocked with the same equipment that we give to our military, the same equipment that we give to our first responders," Stout said, adding "This kit is for very serious, critical stuff."
Whether it's an attack on an arena in England or a high school just half an hour away, Stout said first responders arrive at the scene and find civilians coming to the aid of their neighbors.
"They're trying to improvise bandages with shirts. They're trying to make tourniquets out of belts. They know what they need …" he said. "What we're trying to do is provide them with a basis of training and access to the right equipment in places where they may encounter this type of thing."
Providing this equipment is vital, Stout said: "A lot of these injuries, you've got four to six minutes to make a difference on whether that person lives or dies."
The kits are packed with step-by-step instructions and color-coded packaging, which appealed to Dave Lassiter, director of stadium security. Lassiter said he "absolutely" feels like people are safer because of it.
"I think anybody can pick this up and assist," he said. "Which is the end goal -- just to get somebody to higher echelon medical care."
Sydney Williams, an event coordinator with the team, says she's grateful for the extra training and that it "definitely" makes her feel safer. "You always know, like, something like this could happen," she said. "But really for me, I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that we do have the appropriate procedures in place."
Other stadiums have added similar kits. Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, was the first NFL venue to install them. The New Orleans Saints and major league baseball's New York Yankees followed.
For Tom Garfinkel, the CEO of the Dolphins, it was an easy decision. "We just wanna make sure we're doing everything we can here to make this the safest environment possible for our employees and for all of our guests and everybody that comes … " he said. "I wanna be able to sleep at night. I wanna … know that everybody here is safe and … that we've done everything we can … to prevent it from happening, and if it does happen, make sure we're responding and doing everything we can to save lives."
The Dolphins' organization stressed that this kind of preparedness is important to any office environment, whether the potential injuries are due to traumatic events or simply workplace accidents.
