Legislative Updates

Peter S. Hopewood, MD, FACS, joined Jimm Dodd, ACS Stop the Bleed Program Manager, and Catherine Hendricks, ACS Manager of State Affairs, on a Cape Cod Public Radio program to discuss efforts in the Massachusetts State Legislature to put Stop the Bleed kits in public places and expand training throughout the state. The segment touches on Stop the Bleed measures passed in other states, the positive impact they've had, and the push to enact federal legislation to help save lives nationwide.

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In late March 2024, the Washington State Legislature enacted legislation requiring schools in the state to maintain and provide bleeding control equipment on campus. The result of years of advocacy efforts from multiple groups and organizations across the state, including members of the ACS Committee on Trauma and the ACS Washington State Chapter, the bill also includes other measures to greatly help communities respond to bleeding emergencies.

Read about SB 5790

In May 2023, the Colorado legislature passed a bipartisan bill that was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis to provide STOP THE BLEED® kits and training to schools in the state who opt into receiving them. The law requires the Colorado Department of Public & Environmental Health, in coordination with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, to track school participation, training, and the number of kits placed in schools.

Read about HB23-1213