Surgeons Start Program in Chicago to Train Bystanders to Treat Shooting Victims

iStock/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — Ongoing gun violence in Chicago, which has killed hundreds in 2016, has led to calls for action – as well as inspiring two doctors to start a program designed to help save lives in an emergency. The Chicago South Side Trauma First Responders Course focuses on training anyone to be able to give lifesaving treatment to trauma victims.

Started by Dr. Mamta Swaroop, assistant professor of surgery in trauma and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Dr. Leah Tatebe, a trauma and general surgeon at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in New York, the program was designed to train bystanders to take simple steps that may save lives after a shooting or other violent event before an ambulance even arrives.

Swaroop and Tatebe joined forces with the advocate group Cure Violence to understand how residents in Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods could benefit from basic medical training. As a trauma surgeon, Swaroop said she had seen first-hand the toll shootings have taken on residents in Chicago.

“Last spring there was case after case that I kept seeing of patients who were dying … it came to me that why not have a first responders course that [could] minimize people hemorrhaging out,” said Swaroop. “It wasn’t one particular case … it was watching patients bleeding out and dying in the trauma [department.]”

Swaroop also pointed out that her hospital, which has treated many shooting victims, is about a 15-minute drive from the South Side of Chicago, where much of the violence has occurred. Even if an ambulance responded immediately to help a trauma victim, there would still be that 15-minute drive to the ER for treatment and possibly lifesaving surgery.

“Someone can bleed out their entire blood volume in a couple of minutes,” Swaroop said.

The classes, scheduled to start later this month, were designed after working with the Cure Violence group and other community members to figure out the best way to empower any resident to feel that they can help save a life. The first students are expected to be from local community groups based in neighborhoods that have faced some of the worst gun violence.

“We asked people about what their experiences were with violence and with trauma,” Swaroop said. She said many had experienced violent events without knowing how to respond to traumatic injuries. “The feeling of not knowing what to do … you feel helpless in that situation.”

Swaroop said simply teaching people how to properly apply pressure on a wound or helping open someone’s airway can make a difference. She said that everyone in Chicago should have a basic understanding of what to do in case of an emergency.

“In this day and age you can be anywhere in Chicago and bullets are everywhere. … You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time,” she said. “A bullet does not discriminate one bit.”

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