Lilly Measure to Declare ‘Stop the Bleed Day’ Advances Through House Committee

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  – State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, recently passed a proposal through a House committee to raise awareness of emergency trauma response measures by declaring May 23, 2019, as “Stop the Bleed Day” in Illinois.

“The ‘Stop the Bleed’ campaign was born out of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in order to more effectively treat victims suffering from severe bleeding injuries,” Lilly said. “By working to bring attention to how to treat bleeding trauma, we can save lives during accidents or other tragic incidents.”

Lilly is the sponsor of House Resolution 284, which declares May 23, 2019, as “Stop the Bleed Day” in Illinois. “Stop the Bleed” is a public advocacy and awareness campaign born out of an expert task force started by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School to help prevent deaths during casualty situations. During casualty situations such as accidents, active shooter incidents, or other emergencies, ACS identified blood loss as one area where public education and inexpensive trauma kits could help prevent deaths from a lack of bleeding control. Born out of the “Stop the Bleed” campaign, Lilly is the sponsor of a measure, House Bill 3432, currently pending before the Illinois House, to require schools to maintain an on-site trauma kit to assist during bleeding emergencies.

“Trauma victims can bleed to death within minutes before emergency responders can even arrive,” Lilly said. “By promoting awareness of bleeding control methods and the ‘Stop the Bleed’ campaign, we can save lives.”