Officers Provide Trauma Care Instruction and Supplies to School District Staff

Last week School Resource Officer (SRO) Schutt and Corporal Thompson met with Tukwila School District staff to provide emergency “go bags” that contain medical supplies necessary for critical trauma care. Corporal Thompson who is our trauma medic instructor provided instruction for staff on how to utilize items in the bags such as tourniquets, chest seals, wound dressing, gauze and more.

Tourniquets have emerged as the standard of care in critical incidents due to their ease of use, rapid application and rapid stoppage of blood loss. Stopping blood loss from traumatic injuries saves lives. Roughly 50% of deaths related to traumatic injuries are attributed to rapid blood loss. In today’s society where we unfortunately have seen active shooting incidents and other acts of violence in school systems around the country, having staff trained on to stop blood loss can and will save lives.

This effort was driven by SRO Schutt’s recognition of the need for these supplies and training in our schools. With coordination from our Professional Standards Unit (PSU), the bags were put together and donated to the school district by our department.