The Red Cross Sint Maarten First Aid Awareness campaign featuring AUC’s Stop the Bleed program kicked off on Saturday, September 11—the first in a series of free training sessions demonstrating critical first aid skills throughout September and October. The campaign is a collaboration between the Red Cross, AUC Community Engagement, and the Disaster Medicine Interest Group (DMIG).
Facilitated by a Red Cross certified trainer, the training sessions prominently feature the “Stop the Bleed” program, led by AUC faculty and students, including members of the DMIG. Stop the Bleed is a global awareness program intended to promote and encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.
Members of the public have the opportunity to join the virtual training sessions online via the Red Cross Sint Maarten Facebook page or sign up for a limited number of in-person slots, in accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols. In-person attendees will receive a tactical tourniquet and certification from The American College of Surgeons.
During the first event held on September 11, viewers and in-person participants simultaneously received hands-on training and awareness on first aid response. Then, in-person participants exercised their skills during a simulation to assist someone who is hurt.
Participants as young as 12 years old had the opportunity to be trained and certified on “Stop the Bleed” with their own tourniquet, with the demonstration led by Dr. David Adelstein, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, and students from the DMIG. Dr. Adelstein, who advises the DMIG and teaches AUC's Disaster Medicine elective, has spearheaded students’ certification in Stop the Bleed.
“It is truly a privilege to live on Sint Maarten for the two years of basic medical sciences, and I’m elated to see the collaboration between the St. Maarten Red Cross and AUC come to fruition. The popularity of the Stop the Bleed training shows how eager Sint Maarteners are to protect their community,” said Rose Badrigian, fifth-semester student and DMIG member. “I look forward to seeing many more collaborations between AUC and the island community. Living here has been an incredible experience and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to engage the public in a training that empowers them to save a life.”
Photos courtesy of Dr. Natalie Humphrey, Assistant Dean of Community Engagement