STOP
THE
BLEED
Program aims to turn
bystanders into first
responders
The day after his wedding, Travis Ray was in a serious
motorcycle accident. As Travis lay on the side of the road,
a bystander came to his aid. She did a quick assessment,
stabilized his head and applied a tourniquet to his leg to
control the bleeding until paramedics arrived.
Travis was lucky. The woman who stopped to help him was Denise McCurdy,
nurse manager of Trauma Services for Providence Health Care. Because
McCurdy knew what to do, Ray received immediate treatment that likely
saved his life.
Denise is also the local force behind Stop the Bleed, a national program that
trains laypeople to perform lifesaving techniques before emergency crews
arrive on the scene.
"People want to
help. We just need
to give them the
skills and tools
to do so."
Denise McCurdy, RN
Providence Health Care
14 HEART BEAT FALL 2019
