Beirut: In line with its commitment to improving the health of the community in Lebanon and the region, the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Roads for Life (RFL) in a ceremonial event held on November 17 at the Issam Fares Lecture Hall, with the aim to reaffirm the continued collaboration between the two organizations and to further promote the Stop The Bleed (STB) community course.

The memorandum reiterated the goal of strengthening joint efforts between AUBMC and RFL, the Talal Kassem Fund for Post-Accident Care, in encouraging participation from community for the STB course and working together as Trauma education partners.

The ceremony was attended by AVP for Medical Advancement and Communications of the Faculty of Medicine, Director of the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute (NKBCI), Professor of Medicine Dr.. Ali Taher, Assistant Professor of Clinical Specialty in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Ahmad Zaghal, Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Region 17 Middle East and North Africa Chair, Director of Trauma Programs in the Healthcare Professional Development Center, Dr. George Abi Saad, Trauma Training Officer in the Healthcare Professional Development Center, Mr. Samir Ballouz, RFL President, Mrs. Zeina Kassar Kassem, RFL Secretary General, Mr. Roni Alpha and RFL Marketing Manager, and Mrs. Hala Hachache Wassef.

During the event, speakers stressed on the need to know and understand the basic proven life-saving techniques, allowing people to assist in an emergency and potentially save a life before thearrival of professional help. In this sense, the STB course does not target a specific group of people; in fact, it is available for anyone including students, teachers, and community groups, who are old enough to understand what the course teaches and is interested in learning how to stop the bleed and save lives.

President Fadlo Khuri sent a message that stated: “We welcome all partners on this bold statement, and I extend to Zeina and Roads for Life, our most heartfelt commendations on their mission. AUB as a community abides by the motto to ensure that future generations may have life and have it more abundantly.” He  then added: “The impact of Roads for Life is no doubt felt across multiple layers of our society.”

On this occasion, Professor  Ali Taher said: “For more than a decade, AUB in partnership with Roads for Life have been preparing doctors and nurses to save lives in the face of traumatic uncertainty. Since then, this mission has expanded to not only teaching doctors and nurses but also helping train paramedics, the Lebanese armed forces, and even the internal security forces on how to save lives.” He added: “With the Stop the Bleed initiative that will be demonstrated today, we hope to show the importance and necessity of training anyone willing to learn the basics of how to manage someone who is acutely bleeding”. 

AUBMC is the only center in Lebanon able to certify physicians and allied healthcare professionals in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses (ATCN), Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS), and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), and with its extended and continued partnership with RFL, it has been able to branch out into community education.

“AUB is proud to be a staunch defender and advocate for the wellbeing of trauma victims, with the Stop the Bleed initiative being a great example that with the proper guidance anyone from the community can save a life. What started out as a national project grew into a regional one with ripples even into the international sphere” said Dr. George Abi Saad.

From her side, Mrs. Zeina Kassem stressed the point that in this modern age and time, where information is accessible to everyone, it is unacceptable for individuals to die from uncontrolled bleeding. “Roads for Life is committed to giving everyone who’s willing, the knowledge and skills to prevent death and disability from trauma” she stated.

The two organizations confirmed that two STB pilot courses will be carried out by AUBMC, one in Arabic the other in English, taught by physicians to those who wish to register, where they will be given information on the three quick actions to control serious bleeding covering the following: 1) How to use one’s hands to apply pressure to a wound; (2) How to pack a wound to control bleeding; (3) How to correctly apply a tourniquet.

Since 2011 Roads for Life has supported Trauma Program Education in Lebanon with the Healthcare Professional and Development Center (formerly CME Office), in providing quality globally accredited trauma education courses to physicians, nurses, paramedics and first responders.  As part of its ongoing efforts for Trauma Awareness, Roads for Life has been a champion of the STOP THE BLEED® campaign by the American College of Surgeons.  The purpose of the STOP THE BLEED® campaign is to make people more resilient by better preparing the public to save lives if people nearby are severely bleeding.

This partnership comes as part of AUBMC’s leading vision in expanding post-accident care training offering several other trauma courses (ATLS, ATCN, TCCC, PHTLS). In hopes of reaching a wider audience and raising awareness, AUBMC & RFL are committed to working together in saving lives by teaching anyone and everyone they can on how to provide emergent trauma care.

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About AUBMC  

Since 1902, AUBMC has been providing the highest standards of care to patients across Lebanon and the region. It is also the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine at AUB (established in 1867), which has trained generations of medical students and physicians, and whose graduates can be found at leading institutions around the world. AUBMC is the only medical institution in the Middle East to have earned the five international accreditations of JCI, Magnet, CAP, ACGME-I and JACIE attesting to its superior standards in patient-centered care, nursing, pathology/laboratory services and graduate medical education.

The Faculty of Medicine has graduated over 4,000 medical students and physicians; the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing provides excellent education for the nursing staff, and the Medical Center meets the healthcare needs of over 360,000 patient visits annually.

For more information, please visit our website www.aubmc.org or contact:
Email: praubmc@aub.edu.lb
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