DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The Broward Sheriff’s Office will soon be introducing Stop the Bleed kits to the county’s public and charter schools.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said one of the leading causes of death during an emergency is loss of blood, and that is why new bleed kit stations will soon be installed in public and charter schools across the county.
“I pull the tourniquet out of the kit,” Tony instructed. “I open up the Velcro base, bring it up high and above the injury site, or if we are doing this expeditiously, we say, high and tight.'”
In a crisis, every second matters and first responders want to put live-saving tools in the hands of the public.
“This gives every single first responder and civilian a better chance of treating an injury that otherwise would lead to some form of death if they’re bleeding,” Tony said.
Gloves, gauze, tourniquets and other supplies can be found inside the kits. Each kit has been designed to contain the tools that would be most useful to stop a deadly bleed.
Over the next few years, first responders want to put the kits around the county.
“We are going to have put these not only in our schools, but inside of our movie theaters, inside of our nightclubs,” Tony said. “We can go on and on in terms of placement based on where these threats have been occurring, even in our houses of worship.”
BSO purchased $500,000 worth of Stop the Bleed stations through the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian grant program. The program was created after the Parkland shooting and named after Feis, who sacrificed his life to save his students.
“This didn’t cost our community or tax-payers one single cent, and now we’re able to put this equipment in our schools, which we know someday we’re probably going to end up having to use,” Tony said.
BSO said the goal is to have two of the stations in every public and charter school by the holidays.
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