Georgia Instructor Uses American College of Surgeons Stop the Bleed Kit to Save Accident Victim
By Liam McCarthy
June 4, 2026
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Bain (right) demonstrating bleeding control techniques.
As part of his 26-year career in public safety, Josh Bain has spent nearly a decade teaching American College of Surgeons (ACS) Stop the Bleed courses, helping people in his Georgia community prepare to treat victims of bleeding emergencies. In December 2025, it was his turn to step in and save the life of a stranger.
Bain was driving along Highway 341 near Brunswick, Georgia, when he came across a traffic accident. His car was equipped with a bleeding control kit—one of many his family has—that he had won in an ACS contest giveaway the previous year. Without hesitation, Bain channeled his years of training, grabbed the kit, and rushed toward the scene.
“I had no idea what I was walking into,” Bain said, before describing how a truck had hit a motorcycle, causing a crash that broke the rider’s leg nearly in half. The wound wasn’t bleeding much yet, which meant Bain had arrived within about a minute of the accident, but he knew it was life-threatening. He opened the bleeding control kit and grabbed a tourniquet.
“I told him, ‘I just want you to know this is going to hurt a lot, but I’m going to save your life.’” It’s the exact line he teaches his students to say in his courses.
When paramedics arrived to take the victim to the hospital, they praised Bain for his quick action. The motorcyclist went on to lose his leg, but he survived the crash thanks to the tourniquet. Bain credits his life-saving action to his ACS Stop the Bleed training, and to being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment.
In addition to a tourniquet, ACS Stop the Bleed kits contain various types of gauze, trauma shears, gloves, and other essential materials to stop severe bleeding. Even though Bain didn’t know exactly what he’d need when he stepped out of his car, he knew it would be in the kit.
“I told him, ‘I just want you to know this is going to hurt a lot, but I’m going to save your life.’”
–Josh Bain
A National Leader in Bleeding Control
This experience reinforced Bain’s longstanding commitment to helping his community prepare for bleeding emergencies. It began in March 2017, when the Georgia Trauma Commission (GTC) partnered with the American College of Surgeons to distribute bleeding control kits to every public school and school bus in the state. They set a goal of putting 12 kits in every school, a number determined by doubling the average number of victims in a mass-casualty event. The program was initially funded by “super speeders”—additional fines paid through speeding tickets for drivers going more than 25 miles per hour over the limit.
To date, 99% of schools and 92% of buses in Georgia have received bleeding control kits. Schools and buses in Bain’s district are 100% compliant. In August 2022, the GTC expanded the program, allowing additional governmental organizations to apply for bleeding control kits based on regional needs. This expansion led to over 50,000 kits distributed across the state, and tens of thousands of individuals trained in bleeding control techniques.* Following the standard set by Georgia, there are now 17 states with some form of bleeding control legislation, and other states have used the GTC program as a model of success.
Bain stands in front of a classroom. He has been teaching ACS Stop the Bleed courses for nearly a decade.
Teaching Others to Be Life Savers
The program has also relied on volunteers to teach people how to use bleeding control kits. Bain teaches courses for churches and community groups, and he’s always eager to organize a course for anyone who asks.
“If you have the opportunity to take the training, take it,” he said. “I’ve trained all my children in the class. My wife knows how to use it; she’s taken one of my classes. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”
Bain hopes that everyone in the nation will one day have access to a bleeding control kit and the skills to use it. He also pointed out the need for more instructors across the country.
For students in Bain’s class, bleeding control will no longer be an abstract concept, as they’ll hear a first-hand story from their instructor about the importance of having the right tools and skills at the right time.
“It’s as important as the first aid kit,” he said. “To me, it is the essential first aid kit. First aid kits are generally for minor stuff. The [ACS] Stop the Bleed kit means that I can potentially save a life.”
