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STOP THE BLEED training teaches people to recognize life-threatening bleeding, alert emergency services, and practice direct pressure, wound packing, and tourniquet application under an instructor. For a workplace, the class is one layer: leaders must also assign roles, place and inspect kits, address blood exposure, and integrate the response with 911 and the site's emergency plan.
Key takeaways
- The current ACS course teaches recognition of life-threatening bleeding, emergency notification, direct pressure, wound packing, and tourniquet application through instruction and hands-on practice.
- The free ACS online lesson does not by itself satisfy the in-person skills requirement for an ACS course-completion certificate.
- STOP THE BLEED, First Aid/CPR/AED, and AVIRT serve different purposes. Employers should confirm the curriculum, instructor authorization, practical evaluation, and exact credential before booking.
- Workplace readiness requires trained coverage across shifts, visible and accessible equipment, a tested 911 and EMS handoff, and clear scene-safety limits.
- Assigned medical-response duties may create OSHA bloodborne-pathogen responsibilities that should be reviewed before an incident.
- Kit quantity and placement should follow the site's hazards, occupancy, layout, operating hours, and retrieval time rather than a universal one-kit formula.
Important: This guide is for workplace planning and course-selection purposes. It is not medical advice, a substitute for hands-on instruction, or permission to enter an unsafe scene. Call 911 or direct someone to call as soon as it is safe, follow the dispatcher’s instructions, and act within your training. An Arizona employer should have qualified safety, medical, legal, and insurance advisers review assigned response duties, blood-exposure procedures, equipment, and applicable workplace requirements.
A certificate is not a workplace bleeding-control program
A well-run class can teach a practical skill in one morning. That does not mean the building is ready on Monday afternoon.
The difference usually appears in the ordinary details. A bleeding-control kit is locked in an office after the office manager leaves. The people who trained all work the same shift. Employees know where the automated external defibrillator is but have never seen the trauma kit mounted beside it. Someone calls 911, yet nobody is assigned to meet fire personnel at the correct entrance. A used kit is put back in the cabinet without being restocked.
None of those failures is fixed by another certificate in a personnel file. STOP THE BLEED® training gives people a focused set of emergency skills. Workplace readiness connects those skills to equipment, communication, staffing, scene safety, and professional medical response.
That distinction matters for Arizona offices, schools, houses of worship, warehouses, construction operations, hotels, venues, and security teams. Serious bleeding can follow a machinery injury, fall, vehicle incident, broken glass, everyday accident, or an act of violence. The plan should work for the hazards the organization can reasonably anticipate—not only the emergency that receives the most attention in a seminar.
What STOP THE BLEED training actually covers
STOP THE BLEED® is a U.S. Department of Defense registered mark. The American College of Surgeons operates its public course under a Department of Defense license. A class that teaches bleeding control is not automatically an official branded course, and using the phrase casually is not proof of instructor authorization or a particular certificate.
The current American College of Surgeons course teaches participants to recognize life-threatening bleeding, alert emergency medical services, and use three core bleeding-control methods: direct pressure, wound packing, and tourniquet application. The course is designed for the public, not only clinicians or first responders.
Most ACS courses last no longer than 90 minutes. The format combines instruction with supervised practice so an instructor can see what a participant is doing, correct the movement, and ask for another attempt. That physical feedback is important. Applying meaningful pressure, packing a training wound, and operating a tourniquet are different from recognizing the right answer on a screen.
A responsible class also discusses the boundaries around the technique:
- Checking that it is safe enough to approach rather than entering an active threat, fire, traffic hazard, damaged structure, or another dangerous area
- Recognizing signs that bleeding may be life-threatening
- Calling 911 early and continuing to follow professional direction
- Using protective equipment and reducing blood exposure where practical
- Selecting an appropriate control method for the injury rather than memorizing one rigid sequence
- Continuing care within the responder’s training until professional help takes over
This article deliberately does not teach the hand positions, wound-packing motion, or device-specific tourniquet steps. Those are skills to learn with approved materials and an instructor who can evaluate technique. The ACS course finder and training information are the proper starting point for the branded course.
Online learning has a place, but it is not the hands-on course
ACS offers a free interactive online course that covers the classroom information through videos, activities, and quizzes. It is useful for orientation, distributed teams, and knowledge refreshers. It can also make an in-person session more efficient when participants complete the lecture before attending a Skills-Only Course.
The online portion by itself does not complete the practical requirement for an ACS course-completion certificate. ACS directs online learners to an in-person skills session, where technique can be observed. Employers should therefore ask a precise question when comparing proposals: Is this awareness-only education, a blended course with an in-person skill check, or a complete instructor-led class?
“Online training included” is not enough information. The proposal should identify the curriculum owner, course version, instructor authorization, hands-on activities, participant-to-equipment ratio, successful-completion standard, and the certificate or documentation issued.
STOP THE BLEED, First Aid/CPR/AED, and AVIRT solve different training needs
Training names are often used loosely, which can leave a buyer expecting a credential the class was never designed to provide. These programs overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
| Training | Primary purpose | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| ACS STOP THE BLEED course | Focused recognition and control of life-threatening bleeding through direct pressure, wound packing, and tourniquet practice | Authorized instructor, current curriculum, in-person skills completion, and the exact certificate issued |
| First Aid, CPR, and AED | Broader initial care for injuries and sudden illness, including cardiac arrest and AED use; bleeding control is one part of the course | Certifying organization, adult or pediatric scope, delivery format, skills evaluation, expiration, and the requirement of the employer or licensing body |
| AVIRT | Active-violence response decisions combined with emergency bleeding-control skills and scenario-based practice | Current HSI-authorized format, scenario methods, physical-participation expectations, bleeding-control equipment, instructor ratio, and credential |
Arrow currently offers AVIRT training, which includes emergency bleeding-control practice, and First Aid, CPR, and AED training. Those public pages do not establish that every Arrow bleeding-control session is the official ACS STOP THE BLEED course or that it produces an official STOP THE BLEED certificate. Confirm the current course, curriculum, instructor authorization, and completion document before registering a group.
Start with the workplace, not the kit catalog
Buying identical cabinets for every building may feel orderly, but it skips the planning question: where could a serious injury occur, and how quickly could a trained person reach it with the right equipment?
Review at least five things before choosing quantities or locations:
- Injury exposure. Consider machinery, tools, glass, vehicles, loading docks, elevated work, kitchens, maintenance, public areas, violence history, and other site-specific hazards.
- Building layout. Note separate floors, locked wings, large yards, portable classrooms, remote parking, multiple buildings, and entrances that may be inaccessible after hours.
- Occupancy. Account for employees, students, visitors, customers, volunteers, contractors, and events that temporarily change the number or location of people.
- Coverage by time. A daytime plan may fail for a night shift, weekend service, school event, or lone employee.
- EMS access. Identify the address responders receive, the gate or entrance they should use, who can open it, and how someone will guide them to the patient.
OSHA’s general-industry first-aid rule requires employers to assess medical and first-aid readiness, and its guidance emphasizes matching training and supplies to the hazards of the workplace. The rule does not require every Arizona employer to purchase a branded kit or conduct a course with a particular name. It also does not make a completion certificate an “OSHA certification.”
Choose responders before you choose equipment
A workplace does not need to turn every employee into a designated medical responder. It does need to decide who is expected to do what.
One organization may train a broad group in awareness and maintain a smaller response team. Another may train supervisors, security officers, facilities personnel, nurses, coaches, and selected employees across every shift. A public-facing venue may need people in several zones because one central team cannot reach every concourse quickly. A small office may focus on a few cross-trained employees plus clear instructions for everyone else.
Write roles in plain language:
- Who calls 911 and who takes over if that person is absent?
- Who may approach only after the scene is safe?
- Who retrieves the nearest kit?
- Who meets EMS and controls the entrance or elevator?
- Who keeps uninvolved people away and preserves access for responders?
- Who reports a blood exposure, initiates post-exposure procedures, and arranges cleanup?
- Who replaces used or expired equipment and records the inspection?
If providing first aid and contacting blood is an assigned job duty, the employer should determine how OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens standard applies. That analysis can affect the exposure-control plan, training, protective equipment, hepatitis B vaccination, and post-exposure follow-up. It should not be improvised after an incident.
Put kits where people can retrieve them under stress
ACS recommends keeping kits visible, labeled, and accessible, often near an AED or existing first-aid equipment. That is a useful starting point because employees may already know those locations. It is not a universal quantity formula.
A large site may need several stations so a responder does not cross a campus, wait for an elevator, enter a locked office, or leave a remote work area for too long. High-occupancy spaces and higher-hazard areas deserve specific review. Schools may need to consider gyms, cafeterias, athletic areas, auditoriums, and separate buildings. Industrial sites may focus on production, maintenance, loading, and yard locations. A venue may need public-access and staff-only equipment positioned around distinct zones.
For each proposed location, test the practical questions:
- Can an employee find it without knowing an internal nickname for the room?
- Is it accessible during every operating shift and event?
- Does signage remain visible when doors are open, crowds form, or temporary displays are installed?
- Can the cabinet be opened without a key, code, or manager who may not be present?
- Are the contents appropriate for the trained users and reasonably anticipated hazards?
- Is there a named owner for inspection, expiration tracking, restocking, and tamper review?
ACS advises annual inspection and immediate replenishment after use. Manufacturer instructions, the work environment, company policy, or other requirements may justify a more frequent check. A five-minute monthly visual check is often easier to sustain when it is attached to an existing AED, First Aid, facilities, or safety inspection route.
Connect the class to 911 and the emergency action plan
Bleeding-control training should shorten confusion, not create a second emergency plan. Where an OSHA-required emergency action plan applies, it already needs procedures for reporting emergencies and for employees performing rescue or medical duties. The bleeding-control response should fit that structure.
| Decision | Named owner | Evidence the process works |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency notification | On-scene employee, supervisor, security, or communications role | Employees can state how to call 911 and provide the correct location information |
| Scene safety | Every participant, with police/fire direction taking priority during an active hazard | Exercises require participants to recognize when not to approach |
| Equipment retrieval | Trained personnel by zone or shift | A timed walk-through reaches an accessible, correctly stocked kit |
| EMS access and handoff | Reception, security, facilities, or another assigned guide | The correct gate, entrance, elevator, room, and patient location can be communicated |
| Exposure and cleanup | Safety, human resources, facilities, or medical lead | Employees know the immediate reporting contact and approved cleanup process |
| Restocking and review | Named equipment custodian | Inspection log, expiration check, post-use replacement, and after-action record |
Arrow’s workplace violence prevention guide explains how training, emergency roles, communication, exercises, and after-action improvement fit together. Bleeding control belongs inside that larger life-safety system, even when the likely injury has nothing to do with violence.
Blood exposure and responder aftercare belong in the plan
Workplace planning sometimes stops at the patient. The employee who responds may also need help.
Protective gloves should be available with the equipment, and course participants should learn the current program guidance on exposure reduction. If blood contacts an employee’s skin, eyes, mouth, clothing, or an open cut, the employee needs an immediate, known reporting path. The organization should already have a qualified person who can determine the appropriate post-exposure evaluation and follow-up.
The operational follow-through also includes securing the used equipment, arranging approved cleanup, documenting what was consumed, replacing supplies, and reviewing the response without turning the debrief into blame. A serious incident may be distressing for the injured person, witnesses, and responders. The plan should identify available employee-support or crisis resources and protect private medical information.
Roll out training without leaving whole shifts uncovered
A group-training program works better when it is treated as an operating change instead of a one-day event.
- Set the scope. Define the facilities, shifts, audience, hazards, language needs, accessibility needs, current First Aid coverage, and exact credential being requested.
- Train representative cohorts. Do not put every supervisor, every security officer, or every employee from a critical department in the same session. Preserve business coverage and distribute trained people.
- Install and inspect equipment. Align the contents with the course and make the locations visible before asking people to remember them.
- Walk the handoff. Practice calling 911, naming the location, retrieving the nearest kit, opening the correct entrance, guiding EMS, and reporting a potential exposure. Training equipment should be used for exercises; do not break seals or consume response supplies for routine practice.
- Close the gaps. Record what was slow, unclear, inaccessible, missing, or assigned to someone who was not available. Give each correction an owner and due date.
For multiple locations, use the same core standard but do not force the same map on every building. One site may have a public lobby and single AED cabinet. Another may have separate production, yard, warehouse, office, and security areas that require different equipment and response routes.
The same course needs a different rollout in each setting
| Setting | Coverage questions | Common planning gap |
|---|---|---|
| School or campus | Classrooms, front office, gym, athletic fields, transportation, separate buildings, after-hours events, and age-appropriate participation | All trained staff and equipment are concentrated near the main office while evening activities occur elsewhere |
| Faith organization | Services, childcare, weekday programs, special events, volunteer turnover, language needs, and a welcoming public entrance | The plan depends on one safety volunteer who is not present at every gathering |
| Venue or community event | Guest areas, backstage or back-of-house space, temporary staff, parking, crowd movement, radio channels, and the EMS rendezvous point | Equipment exists, but temporary workers and outside event partners do not know the location or notification process |
| Office, warehouse, or industrial site | Shift coverage, loading and production areas, contractors, machinery, lone work, remote yards, required PPE, and exposure-control duties | The daytime office team is trained while higher-hazard work continues on another shift or in a separate area |
These are prompts, not formulas. A site review should account for the people who actually use the property and the conditions that change after normal business hours.
Refreshers should practice the handoff, not only the technique
Skills fade, people leave, supplies expire, and buildings change. A completion date is useful, but it is not a permanent measure of readiness.
Use the curriculum owner’s current requirements for any formal course renewal. Between full classes, review the response after staffing changes, facility changes, a relocated AED or kit, new hazards, an incident, or an exercise that exposes a gap. When an OSHA emergency action plan applies, the standard requires review when the plan is developed, when an employee’s responsibilities change, and when the plan changes.
A short logistics exercise can reveal more than another slide presentation. Ask employees to locate the nearest kit, identify the full address and building entrance, explain who calls 911, and name the contact for exposure reporting. Keep medical skill practice within the approved course or refresher format and use the proper training devices.
Questions to ask before booking a workplace class
- What is the exact course name, curriculum owner, and current version?
- Is the instructor currently authorized for that curriculum?
- Is the class entirely in person, blended, Skills-Only, or awareness-only?
- Which skills will each participant physically practice and demonstrate?
- What is the participant-to-instructor and participant-to-training-equipment ratio?
- What certificate or completion record is issued, by whom, and does it expire?
- Does the course satisfy the separate First Aid, CPR, AED, school, childcare, licensing, or employer requirement we actually have?
- How are age, language, mobility, sensory, religious, trauma, or other participation needs handled?
- Can the provider help leadership review kit placement and emergency-plan integration without claiming to provide legal or medical approval?
- What are the current price, minimum or maximum class size, travel area, cancellation terms, equipment requirements, and available dates?
For Arrow, ask specifically whether the proposed session is AVIRT, First Aid/CPR/AED, an authorized STOP THE BLEED course, or another bleeding-control module. The name on the proposal and certificate should match what is actually delivered.
Workplace bleeding-control readiness checklist
- Workplace injury hazards, occupancy, layout, operating hours, and EMS access have been reviewed.
- The selected course, curriculum owner, instructor authorization, hands-on requirement, and credential are documented.
- Trained people are distributed across buildings, zones, shifts, and event schedules.
- Employees know how to call 911 and provide the correct address, entrance, floor, and patient location.
- Scene-safety limits are clear, including when employees must not approach.
- Kits are visible, labeled, unlocked, and accessible whenever the site is occupied.
- Kit contents match the training and have been reviewed for the site’s hazards.
- One person or role owns inspections, expiration checks, restocking, and post-use replacement.
- Assigned medical-response duties have been reviewed for bloodborne-pathogen obligations and protective equipment.
- Exposure reporting, post-exposure follow-up, cleanup, incident documentation, and employee support are defined.
- A walk-through has tested equipment retrieval, 911 communication, responder access, and handoff.
- Training and the plan are reviewed after changes, exercises, use, and identified performance gaps.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a STOP THE BLEED class take?
The American College of Surgeons says most of its courses last no longer than 90 minutes. The actual schedule can change with group size, delivery format, instructor staffing, questions, accommodations, and the amount of hands-on practice. Confirm the start time, end time, and practical requirements with the provider.
Can employees complete STOP THE BLEED training online?
Employees can take the free ACS interactive lecture online. To receive an ACS course-completion certificate, ACS still requires an in-person Skills-Only Course or a complete in-person class so the practical skills can be observed. An online awareness module can support readiness, but it is not the same experience.
Is STOP THE BLEED training free?
ACS says most of its courses are typically offered without a charge, although a provider may have expenses or charge a fee. That does not mean every public, private, or employer-sponsored session is free. Ask for the total price, travel or facility charges, participant minimums, equipment costs, and cancellation terms before booking.
Does a STOP THE BLEED certificate expire?
The public ACS FAQ does not state one universal expiration period for its course-completion certificate. Do not borrow an expiration date from AVIRT, First Aid, or another curriculum. Record the exact course taken, follow the issuing organization’s current requirements, and schedule practice based on workplace risk, staff turnover, exercises, and performance.
Can anyone teach an official STOP THE BLEED course?
No one should claim to deliver an official branded course solely because they know bleeding-control techniques. Instructor eligibility and authorization depend on the licensed curriculum provider. Ask the instructor to identify the program, current authorization, course version, and certificate process.
Is STOP THE BLEED an OSHA certification?
No. OSHA states that it does not certify First Aid programs, instructors, or trainees. STOP THE BLEED is focused bleeding-control education. Whether it fits an employer’s First Aid program depends on the workplace hazards, other required training, delivery format, and applicable standards. Do not use it as an automatic substitute for First Aid, CPR, or AED certification.
Does Arrow Security provide an official STOP THE BLEED certificate?
Arrow’s current public information confirms that AVIRT includes emergency bleeding-control instruction and practice. It does not establish that every Arrow session is the official ACS course or issues an official STOP THE BLEED certificate. Ask Arrow to identify the current course, curriculum, instructor authorization, and completion document in writing before registration.
Who should receive workplace bleeding-control training?
Choose people from the actual operating plan: security, supervisors, facilities, workplace response teams, nurses or health staff, coaches, event staff, teachers, faith-community leaders, and other employees who may be near an injury. Coverage should exist across shifts and locations rather than concentrating every trained person in one department.
Does the class replace First Aid, CPR, or AED training?
No. It develops a focused response to life-threatening bleeding. A broader First Aid, CPR, and AED course covers additional emergencies and may be the credential required by an employer, regulator, school, licensing body, or contract. Many organizations benefit from both.
How many bleeding-control kits does a workplace need?
There is no reliable universal number for every workplace. Base the decision on hazards, building size, separate floors or structures, occupancy, operating hours, existing emergency-equipment locations, and how far a responder would have to travel. ACS recommends accessible, labeled placement and notes that larger or more dispersed sites may need additional kits.
How often should bleeding-control kits be inspected?
ACS recommends inspecting kits annually for expired or damaged supplies and replenishing them immediately after use. Follow manufacturer instructions and any applicable facility, insurer, or regulatory requirement. More frequent visual checks may make sense for public, high-use, harsh, mobile, or higher-hazard locations.
