In a victory for public safety and ACS advocacy, on September 27 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed STOP THE BLEED®-supported legislation into law. This bill, “Emergency Response: Trauma Kits,” requires the installation of trauma bleeding control kits in newly constructed public and private buildings throughout the state and is the first state-level bleeding control bill of its kind to be enacted in the US.
“We are proud of our California member surgeons who helped make this legislation a reality. A bleeding emergency can happen anywhere, and by prominently placing bleeding control kits in public places, California empowers its citizens to step in and save lives when a bleeding emergency occurs,” said ACS Executive Director Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS.
The San Diego-Imperial, Northern California, and Southern California State Chapters of the ACS, and the bill’s primary cosponsors—State Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D) and State Senator Ben Hueso (D)—led the effort to pass the legislation, along with a coalition comprising an additional 11 trauma physician-related organizations.
“It has been a long road, punctuated by a 2-year rewrite and an arduous California grassroots advocacy effort to get AB 2260 passed. Sen. Hueso and Asm. Rodriguez are to be commended for their steadfast determination and leadership to make this lifesaving legislation happen. STOP THE BLEED really does make a life-or-death difference and California’s leadership in this effort will help pave the way for similar legislation across the country in future years,” said Amy E. Liepert, MD, FACS, a trauma and acute care surgeon at UC San Diego Health, who led the grassroots initiative that advocated for this legislation.
Following passage of the legislation, the ACS State Affairs team worked with ACS members residing in California and submitted letters from the California State Chapters, the Committee on Trauma (COT), and the coalition to Governor Newsom. In their letters, the coalition stressed that a bleeding emergency can happen anywhere, and that California is particularly susceptible to natural disasters, including earthquakes.
“Our training gives bystanders the knowledge, skills, and confidence to step in and act,” said Kenji Inaba, MD, FACS, FRCSC, Chair of the ACS COT STOP THE BLEED Steering Committee. “We hope that other states will follow California and make these lifesaving kits available everywhere.”
