EMS Week Spotlight: ACS Stop the Bleed Program Expands Training and Resources for the People of Ukraine

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Stop the Bleed program is supporting efforts to help people in Ukraine learn the basics of the Stop the Bleed course and working to provide access to bleeding control materials so they can implement these lifesaving techniques.

Uncontrolled bleeding is the No. 1 cause of preventable death after injury in the world. Stop the Bleed is a quick and effective training program that can make a life-or-death difference when someone is severely bleeding. By using direct pressure, packing a wound, or applying a tourniquet, anyone can be ready to act when a bleeding emergency occurs.

“Providing this type of emergency assistance in a war zone poses many unique challenges. Anything that can be done to stop a bleeding injury will give that person a better chance of survival. That's why we're working to help bring Stop the Bleed to the people of Ukraine,” said ACS Executive Director Patricia Turner, MD, MBA, FACS.

Many people have stepped up in recent weeks to help the people of Ukraine as they endure a humanitarian crisis resulting from the Russian invasion. One such person is Roxolana Horbowyj, MD, FACS, a Philadelphia-based surgeon who has been teaching the program directly to people in Ukraine via Zoom-based training since late February. She has taught Stop the Bleed courses in Ukraine for years, but the recent escalation in violence has created a pressing need for disseminating this information in new and innovative ways.

Horbowyj has seen the number of attendees in her Zoom-based courses rise as the days and weeks pass. During her trainings she can hear the results of the actions going on in Ukraine. An interview about Horbowyj’s experiences was recently featured in The Independent.

“We know bleeding is the foremost reason injured people die. It’s very much our belief that this training can save lives in Ukraine, which is why we’re doing this,” said Horbowyj.

Additionally, Ukrainian language YouTube videos featuring Nelya Melnitchouk, MD, FACS, and Eric Goralnick, MD, MS, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, showing the basics of Stop the Bleed, are available here and here. These resources provide a quick way for someone to understand how to stop blood loss and potentially save a life during a crisis or traumatic situation.

Melnitchouk also founded the Global Medical Knowledge Alliance, which shares open access evidence-based educational trauma and cancer management resources. They have translated the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) program, added Stop the Bleed education, and shared the YouTube videos in Ukraine.

Sending Supplies to Ukraine

The ACS Stop the Bleed Program has put out a call for donations to support efforts to bring resources and education to the people of Ukraine. The donations will help ACS get supplies into the hands of those who need help to save lives right now—the people of Ukraine. Through trusted partners, the program is already organizing shipments of supplies with bleeding control instructions to people on the ground in Ukraine and Poland.

“A Ukrainian surgeon…has requested bleeding control kits and tourniquets, as well as Stop the Bleed material translated into Ukrainian. The ACS has responded by translating educational material, creating video education, and establishing a venue for donations on the program's website. Please visit the website and help in any way you can,” said Lenworth Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS, past ACS regent and a founder of the ACS Stop the Bleed Program, in a recent call for support.

Stop the Bleed was launched in October 2015 by the White House, with a call to action to begin training more people to become immediate responders during a bleeding emergency until professional help arrives. The program is operated under a licensing agreement granted by the Department of Defense.

Learn more about Stop the Bleed: Help Ukraine. Resources are available in Ukrainian on the Stop the Bleed website.