/SWFL News




CCPD using the stop-the-bleed devoices for training

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Hannah Herbst, CEO of Golden Hour Medical.

PHOTO CREDIT AJ Frydman

PHOTO CREDIT AJ Frydman

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The bleeding control AutoTQ Tourniquet is a Golden Hour Medical, Inc. innovation.
PHOTO CREDIT Golden Hour Medical

Golden Hour Medical


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AutoTQ, a stop-the-bleed kit, is now available at multiple county parks throughout Lee County.

 

Hannah Herbst, founder and CEO of Golden Hour Medical, said the focus was really on reimagining the moment after a tragic injury and how she could help.

 

She met representatives from Lee County at a conference.

 

“They are really innovative people that want to do everything they can to protect the people in Lee County. They were excited about AutoTQ. It’s a great fit to keep in public places to work and play. People will be able to intervene and stop the bleed,” Herbst said.

 

“Following subsequent discussions and evaluation, EMS determined that the AutoTQ would be a valuable addition to equip bystanders to provide immediate care during life-threatening bleeding emergencies,” Lee County Public Safety Deputy Chief Colin Johnson said.

 

Coincidentally, the same funding source that supported the installation of the outdoor AED cabinets, also enabled the AutoTQ initiative, he added.

 

“At present, five AutoTQ devices have been deployed within outdoor AED cabinets located at Three Oaks (Park, 18251 Three Oaks Pkwy), Lakes (Park, 7330 Gladiolus Dr., Brooks (Park, 50 South Road.), Ruttenburg (Park, 6500 South Point Blvd.,) and Buckingham (Park, 9800 Buckingham Road). EMS is actively assessing additional locations for future deployment,” he said.

 

The cabinets are located near restrooms, or other structures, as they use electric power to keep the equipment both charged and climate controlled.

 

The way the kit works is an individual places it above the site of bleeding, so the device can tighten to control the bleed. She said it works like an AED in the sense that it tells someone exactly what to do.

 

“All you do is put it on and push the inflate button and it does the rest for you,” Herbst said.

 

The Lee Control team has received training on the devices and maintains awareness of their locations, Johnson said.

 

“The AutoTQ devices are designed for ease of use and provide audible, step-by-step instructions for bystanders, similar to an AED. In the event of a 911 activation involving severe bleeding, Lee Control can guide callers in locating, applying, and effectively using the AutoTQ device,” he said.

 

In addition, the cabinet will also automatically alert 9-1-1 when it is accessed and the nearest ambulance will respond.

 

Herbst said she came up with the idea more than four years ago and started shipping AutoTQ kits to places around the country about six months ago. She said the kits have been placed at construction sites, hospitals, schools, universities, police forces, and first responder vehicles.

She said they also have some kits at the Cape Coral Police Department where they are used in their training centers.

 

“I don’t think I was prepared of how incredible I feel,” Herbst said of producing this kit. “Hearing their reaction is the best feeling in the world – being equipped and ready to intervene in an emergency. They are now equipped to save a life – that is the most amazing feeling.”

 

She came up with the idea on December of 2021 and immediately called her friend, an engineering director, to run the idea by him. Herbst said he built a couple prototypes to see what they could do, along with putting a small team together.

“From the idea to a product it took almost four years,” she said.

 

The love of inventing devices took shape in middle school after learning how to program a robot for the first time during a camp. That love carried her through solving many more problems, a favorite thing for her to do.

 

Herbst graduated from Florida Atlantic High School before graduating from Florida Atlantic University in 2020.

 

“I was very blessed and fortunate. Now to be helping with kits is amazing. I am very blessed,” Herbst said.

 

For more information, visit www.theautotq.com.