Ripley County Health Department makes Batesville Fire Department donation

Batesville, In. — The Ripley County Health Department has generously donated 50 “Stop the Bleed” trauma kits to Batesville Fire & Rescue.

The kits will be installed in all City of Batesville municipal buildings and vehicles to further our mission of providing the highest levels of public safety services to the citizens of Batesville and the surrounding areas. 

The bleeding control kits allow bystanders to control life-threatening bleeding and provide immediate care to the injured while awaiting the arrival of professional responders. The kits contain a tourniquet, would-packing materials, training devices and instructions.

“We want to equip our city employees with the ability to make a lifesaving difference in case of an emergency,” Fire Chief Todd Schutte said. “This gift from the Ripley County Health Department allows our employees to understand and deploy basic techniques of bleeding control to a citizen or a co-worker before first responders arrive.”

Statistics show that uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma. The greater the number of people who know how to control bleeding in an injured patient, the greater the chances of surviving that injury.

The generous donation was made possible by a grant request from the Ripley County Health Department to the Indiana State Department of Health for the trauma kits.

The kits will also allow Batesville Fire & Rescue to conduct Stop the Bleed trainings for organizations and schools in the community. If your organization is interested, contact Chief Schutte at (812) 934-2230.