STOP THE BLEED Pilot Coming to Franklin

Representative Marcus Vaughn is praising the launching of a STOP THE BLEED pilot program that will provide life-saving trauma kits and bleeding control training for school faculty and staff in 11 Massachusetts communities, including Franklin and five of the towns he represents in the 9th Norfolk District.

From his district, Wrentham, Medfield, Millis, Norfolk and Plainville will each receive $5,000 to participate in the pilot program, which will allow each school district to purchase 100 trauma kits. Each kit contains easy-to-use tools such as a torniquet, gauze, wound packing and gloves, which can help stem serious bleeding wounds before first responders arrive.

Funding for the pilot program was secured last year in the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget by former Representative Shawn Dooley, a long-time advocate for the state’s adoption of the national STOP THE BLEED program. The six other communities participating in the pilot program include, in addition to Franklin, Bellingham, Dover, Milford, Needham, and Sherborn.

Since his election in 2022, Representative Vaughn has been working to carry on his predecessor’s efforts by re-filing legislation that would require all public buildings and any building required to have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to have at least a trauma kit on hand and a staff member trained to use it at all times. House Bill 2282 has been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Health, but has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing.

Research shows that 35% of all pre-hospital trauma deaths are due to uncontrollable hemorrhaging from an extremity. However, when a torniquet is applied there is a six-fold increase in the chances of survival. Representative Vaughn noted that the passage of this bill would help to save many lives across the Commonwealth.

This year marks the 5th annual National STOP THE BLEED® Month in May, and the 6th annual National STOP THE BLEED® Day on May 25. To learn more about how STOP THE BLEED® is being implemented around the country visit https://www.stopthebleed.org