This summer South Dakota Emergency Medical Services for Children is partnering with local Pediatric Champions and community driver’s education instructors to present our Choices, Chances, Decisions (CCD) and Stop the Bleed (STB) curriculum. This program educates new drivers about impaired driving, Buckle Up Phone Down, bicycle safety, and will be among the first in the nation to incorporate Stop the Bleed (STB) training into driver’s education classes.

CCD and STB instructors are teaching young drivers in rural and frontier communities the simple, lifesaving skills of compression, wound packing, and placing a tourniquet, so that if they are on the scene of an accident they will potentially be able to save a life – especially in areas that have longer response times for first responders. Each student that goes through the course will be given a Stop the Bleed kit to keep in their vehicle thanks to SD EMS for Children and the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

We appreciate our community partners and driver’s ed instructors that have chosen to take their time to teach the kids these lifesaving skills. Thank you for connecting kids to their communities! If you have questions about this program, contact our office at sdemsc@usd.edu .