You Are the Help Until Help Arrives

Early next month, residents of Lompoc can learn the basic skills to keep people with potentially life-threatening injuries alive until professional help arrives. The Lompoc Hospital District Foundation has asked me to present FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) training called “Stop the Bleed.” The lecture and training will be given from 6 to 8 pm September 4, but reservations are required by August 31. The class will be held in the Ocean’s Seven Café at Lompoc Valley Medical Center.

This class will go beyond the national “Stop the Bleed” training. Remember always that “Acting quickly saves lives.” Participants in the Sept. 4 class will receive information, training and will be able to build their confidence so they can be “The Help Until Help Arrives” as the motto states.

Life-threatening injuries can occur at any time – car, motorcycle or bicycle crashes, home repair accidents, active shooters, severe weather, transportation issues or acts of terrorism. They can impact someone in your family, neighbors, coworkers or strangers.

This training matters. The national average response time for Emergency Medical Services personnel is six to nine minutes, and it’s even longer in rural areas. Since this program started, more than 100,000 people have completed the training, and 98 percent of those people said they are more likely to help as a result of what they learned. The first care that someone gets requires no special skills and can bet the difference between life and death.

This training will help our community build a network of lifesaving individuals, joining others across the nation.

There are five key steps to follow “Until Help Arrives” to make a difference in emergency situations. We will go into each of these steps more in-depth during the training on September 4. In the meantime, here is some basic information for you:

• Call 911 - When something occurs that requires emergency medical attention, call 911. During this class, I’ll discuss the information you’ll receive from Lompoc Police dispatchers about what to do in certain situations. We’ll practice scenarios to gain experience.
• Stay Safe - During the training, we’ll discuss how to gain experience using sight, sound, and smell to determine if an accident scene is safe.  We’ll discuss what to do if the scene is safe and what to do when it is not safe.
• Stop the Bleeding - Learn about the importance of bleeding control and practice with tourniquets to gain confidence.  A Stop the Bleeding kit will be raffled as a door prize.
• Position the Injured - The most comfortable and least stressful positions for an injured person will be discussed and practiced by volunteer participants.  Attendees will receive information on how to safely position individuals when responding to an emergency.
• Provide Comfort - Scenarios and useful information will be exchanged to help participants provide comfort to the injured to keep them calm until professional help arrives.

The first care someone receives requires no special skills and can potentially be the difference between life and death. I invite you to attend this free training session to increase your knowledge and skills so that you can be “The Help Until Help Arrives.”

To reserve a spot for this lecture, please call Karen Ortiz at (805) 875-8868 by August 31, or email ortizk@lompocvmc.com.