Medical Providers Prep Educators and First Responders on Mass Casualty Event Trauma

(South Lake Tahoe, CA) –Mass casualty incidents around the nation can pose an excruciating question: are we ready if this happens to us? In an effort to prepare the South Shore for such an event, Barton Health has worked with police, fire protection agencies and Lake Tahoe Unified School District personnel to offer training and medical equipment to save lives by stopping extremity bleeding.

Barton Level III Trauma Center surgeon, Kimberly Evans, MD, FACS, and Barton’s Trauma Program Manager, Cate Neal, RN have been instructing trainings through a program called Stop the Bleed, which was created by the Department of Homeland Security and American College of Surgeons to teach lay people how to care for trauma victims.

“While no one wants to imagine the horrors of a mass casualty event, the fact is that these tragedies are occurring more frequently,” says Dr. Evans. “Many people in these disasters die from extremity bleeding, and some simple treatment techniques could help save their lives,” she explains.

Training sessions from the area’s leading medical experts as well as backpacks stocked with medical equipment to address trauma injuries have been provided to local agencies, paid for by a grant from the Barton Foundation in 2018. Through philanthropy and fundraising, the Barton Foundation awards funding for programs and services to improve the health and welling of the area though annual community grants.

Since implementing this trauma education program in 2018, Barton Health has provided Stop the Bleed training sessions for police, fire and education sectors of the community.  More information regarding Barton Health’s emergency services, Level III Trauma Center, and trauma preparedness is available at bartonhealth.org/emergencydepartment. To request a Stop the Bleed training at your organization with Barton Health, call 530.543.5654.