“The Department of Defense’s (DoD) STOP THE BLEED® (STB) Program is designed to train and equip the public to be able to treat traumatic injuries involving severe bleeding until the first responders arrive. Towards that end, DoD has licensed the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, and the Stop the Bleed Coalition to develop STB bleeding control courses that can be used by instructors, private organizations, and government agencies to teach the STB course. While the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association primarily provide course materials to their instructors, ACS and the Stop the Bleed Coalition make their courses available to all qualified instructors.
Both ACS and the Stop the Bleed Coalition offer quality courses that meet DoD training requirements. By having two sources of training, instructors are free to choose the course and support materials that best meet their needs. ACS qualified instructors do not need to sign up with the Coalition and vice versa. However, it is anticipated that many may want to register with both organizations and thus have access to all support materials currently available. It is entirely up to the instructors to determine which option is best for them.
The STOP THE BLEED® Program’s success comes from the dedicated people that have volunteered their time and energy to provide critical bleeding control training to the public. By providing instructors with more options and expanded access to training support materials, it is DoD’s hope that it will make the instructor’s job easier and improve the overall training experience.”