Concordia University Wisconsin is now fully equipped with “Stop the Bleed” kits around campus, a precautionary measure Campus Safety opted to install following the mass shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo, and Highland Park earlier this year.
The kits are housed in red backpacks that now hang at strategic locations throughout campus. A kit will also be delivered to Concordia’s Center locations. There are 39 backpacks in total. Each one includes eight individually sealed “Stop the Bleed” kits comprised of:
- A tourniquet
- Trauma dressing
- Nitrile gloves
- A permanent marker (to write the time of the treatment measures on the dressings)
“Minutes can count when someone is bleeding heavily,” says Campus Safety Director Mike Stolte. “Our Campus Safety Officers have carried tourniquets for years, but when you’re talking about mass casualty incidents, you need more than just one.”
The kits offer a way for people to help treat injuries until first responders can arrive. Like CPR, no special medical expertise is needed. And the result of utilizing them could mean a life is saved, says Stolte.
The “Stop the Bleed” training isn’t just about responding to gunshot victims. It can be used to treat someone involved in a car accident, cooking accident, or any other situation where someone is bleeding.
“The more people who know how to control bleeding, the better prepared we all are, both on and off campus,” explains Stolte.
Training opportunities
Twelve employees from the School of Health Professions, School of Pharmacy, Health Center, Athletic Training and Campus Safety Office at Concordia have completed “Stop the Bleed” instructor training, which certifies them to teach students and others at CUW how to utilize the kits. The training is free and consists of an interactive online course, as well as a hands-on, skills-only course where students or employees practice packing a wound and applying a tourniquet. A link to the online course and list of instructors is available on the Resources tab of the CUW Portal.
Safe campus
Concordia is one of the first universities in the state to make the kits widely accessible to students; however, it’s likely that other colleges will soon follow suit as, nationwide, more and more schools are adopting them. In California, for example, the State Legislature enacted a new bill last month that requires the installation of trauma bleeding control kits in newly constructed public and private buildings throughout the state.
Concordia places a high priority on students’ safety, and the campus’ architectural structure aids in that effort. The campus was originally constructed with a “cloistered” feel in mind and Concordia has maintained the unique architectural design of having the entirety of the campus be connected by tunnels. Nearly all of the Campus Safety team is retired law enforcement, with Assistant Director of Campus Safety Dan Buntrock having previously served as Chief of Police for the City of Mequon.
Recently, the Department of Transportation took on a construction project to add on- and off-ramps to aid ease of access to the highway for a new hospital that was constructed near CUW. The project provides easier access to Concordia as well, both for welcomed and unwanted guests. Campus Safety decided to add cameras that will capture the license plates of all vehicles entering campus and the technology will notify the Mequon Police Department within 15 seconds of any car that has been reported stolen, has an outstanding warrant, or any other concern.
As a result of all its efforts, CUW is routinely ranked among the safest college campuses in the state, or even the nation.
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