HUNTINGTON òòò½ÊÓƵ” The Huntington Police Department (HPD) has purchased a gunshot wound manikin for its òòò½ÊÓƵœStop The Bleedòòò½ÊÓƵ training program to equip officers better when confronted with life-threatening injuries in the field.
The Tommanikin Gunshot Wound Manikin is a state-of-the-art manikin made to help simulate responding to gunshot wounds, said Dominique Wong, an emergency physician at Cabell Huntington Hospital and òòò½ÊÓƵœStop The Bleedòòò½ÊÓƵ trainer. The manikin will allow officers to simulate and watch the actions in response to the treatments that can be applied to various injuries officers may see on duty. Wong said officers are trained to not only help each other, but also victims and even suspects.
The òòò½ÊÓƵœStop The Bleedòòò½ÊÓƵ training program educates nonmedical individuals on how to stop hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging is one of the leading causes of death in traumas and is a time sensitive injury, Wong said. The program equips officers to handle a variety of situations such as scenes with multiple injuries, extricating students from a school and much more, Wong said.
òòò½ÊÓƵœFor every minute delay in hemorrhage control, thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a 7% increase in mortality,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wong said. òòò½ÊÓƵœWe have added on to Stop the Bleed so that law enforcement is able to take care of a variety of different gunshot wounds, including sucking chest wounds and other things besides hemorrhage, and they would be able to respond rapidly to these very time-sensitive injuries.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Wong, who has worked in the emergency room for 25 years, said itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s important for officers to be trained to stop bleeding because it happens more often than people expect.
òòò½ÊÓƵœEvery officer needs this training. Most of these things donòòò½ÊÓƵ™t happen in special operations. Most of them happen on just routine police calls òòò½ÊÓƵ” most of these critical injuries,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wong said.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe really got to work on getting people trained and trying to get them equipped best we can do, and I think itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s really critical work. The proof in the pudding: Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve seen more saves than I ever expected.òòò½ÊÓƵ
The manikin will be used to train Huntington police and will be a training opportunity for officers statewide, Capt. Steve Compton said at Huntington City Council Monday. The hope is that officers all throughout the state train at the Huntington Police Department, he said.
This will be the first time HPD will use this type of manikin due to its high price point. Wong said this is something she has wanted to incorporate into the òòò½ÊÓƵœStop The Bleedòòò½ÊÓƵ program during her decade of working with HPD.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe would try to simulate it with various cheaper methods,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wong said. òòò½ÊÓƵœYouòòò½ÊÓƵ™d have to sit next to the person or sit next to the body and it really just didnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t have the same feel or the same urgency and the same tactile sense. Plus, this Tommanikin gives feedback so you tell if what you do works.òòò½ÊÓƵ
The gunshot wound manikin, along with several other pieces of equipment and supplies such as artificial blood comes out to $49,424.34. Wong said she looked into other options, such as augmented reality, but said itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s important for officers to be able to perform procedures physically. The goal is for the training to be hands-on and create that muscle memory.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe want this to be as hands-on as possible so that these lessons stick the first time; theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re using a piece of equipment isnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t when their adrenaline is high and the situation is chaotic,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wong said.
HPD and Wong hope to offer recurrent training with the Tommanikin Gunshot Wound Manikin every other month to every third month. There currently needs to be a set date for the first training set; Wong said it depends on when all equipment and supplies come in.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI know so far that the training weòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve done has saved lives,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wong said. I hope we never need it for an active shooter or school shooting. Still, I am confident that with the energy theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve invested in the prioritization theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve put into this, they will be as ready as you can be for something like this.òòò½ÊÓƵ
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