University Health System’s trauma team has taught hundreds of people from
all walks of life the skills needed to keep a badly bleeding person alive as part
of the Stop the Bleed campaign. Those skills saved the life of Tobias Walker
after he was shot in the neck outside his home.
Tobias Walker doesn’t remember much about the evening in early August when a bullet passed through his neck and out his back. The gunman at his door was someone he knew. A neighbor he considered “a second mom” came over to intervene. When the gunman turned his pistol to her, Mr. Walker moved to protect her and the gun fired. “I took two steps and collapsed,” he said. “Everyone tells me, you were gushing blood. There was no way you would have made it out of your front yard without help.” Help came in the form of paramedics from San Antonio EMS and firefighters from the San Antonio Fire Department. They stuffed the gaping wound with clot-forming gauze and used manual pressure on the way to the hospital to keep him alive until he could reach the operating table at University Hospital. The steps those professionals took to keep Mr. Walker alive are the same skills that University Health System’s trauma team has been teaching members of the public for the last year as part of Stop the Bleed, a nationwide campaign. A number of groups, including the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, came together to launch Stop the Bleed. The goal is to turn bystanders into immediate responders,” said Dr. Ronald Stewart, chair of surgery at University Health System and UT Health San Antonio, and immediate past-chair of the ACS Committee on Trauma.Since February, 2017, the trauma team has held free Stop the Bleed classes at University Hospital on the first Monday of each month. They’ve also provided training to community groups, businesses and schools, often in collaboration with the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council. As of late November, 584 people had been taught the skills needed to slow life-threatening blood loss until help arrives. Class times and locations can be found on the calendar section of University Health System’s website, UniversityHealthSystem.com, or at StopTheBleedTX.org. To reserve a seat at one of the monthly classes or request an instructor to come and teach a class, email: stopthebleed@uhs-sa.com. In November, Mr. Walker, 26, returned to University Hospital to present an award to the two paramedics and four firefighters who saved his life. University Health System’s trauma team wanted to honor those first responders for the lifesaving actions they took that day to Stop the Bleed.
/www.UniversityHealthSystem.com
/StopTheBleedTX.org
link
/UniversityHealthSystem.com
/StopTheBleedTX.org
link
