By Leila Merrill
CHICAGO — The American College of Surgeons’ Stop the Bleed program announced Thursday in a news release that it has a new vendor, North American Rescue, LLC, for its Stop the Bleed kits, equipment and other bleeding control materials.
The products are available to the public at the Stop the Bleed online shop.
The new ACS-branded Combat Application Tourniquet is now available. The C-A-T, as described by NAR, “is a true self-applied, one-handed tourniquet proven to be 100% effective by the U.S. Army’s Institute of Surgical Research. Tests proved that the C-A-T can completely occlude blood flow of an extremity in the event of a traumatic injury with significant hemorrhage.”
Several new kit options are now available, as well. The kits can include materials such as the C-A-T, QuikClot Z-Fold Dressing, Celox hemostatic bandages, a mini permanent marker, gloves, surgical masks and other items.
“We are extremely excited about our new relationship with North American Rescue. As one of the largest and most respected manufacturers of bleeding control supplies in the nation, this partnership will help us to assure that people looking for this lifesaving equipment will have access to the best products at the best prices,” said Mark Gestring, MD, FACS, chair of the ACS committee on trauma Stop the Bleed steering committee. “Both the American College of Surgeons and North American Rescue have been committed to the Stop the Bleed program since the beginning and this new relationship brings together two major leaders in this effort.”
A NAR leader had similar sentiments.
“North American Rescue is honored to have the privilege to work with the American College of Surgeons in support of their mission to train and equip individuals to Stop the Bleed,” said Brent Bronson, senior vice president of public safety sales at North American Rescue. “NAR’s mission has always been to reduce preventable deaths and the desire to see more lives saved. We are excited about the potential of this program to provide bystanders with the lifesaving training and kits needed to stop life-threatening bleeding in an emergency. The ACS is committed to excellent work, and we are proud to support it.”
Stop the Bleed was established in 2015 by the White House. The program is operated under a licensing agreement granted by the Department of Defense.